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NEIMME Transactions

Volume 37

NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
TRANSACTIONS
VOL. XXXVII.
18 8 7-8.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne : Andrew Reid, Printing Court Buildings. Akenside Hill.
London Office: 4 and 5, Queen's Head Passage, Paternoster Row, E.C.
1888.
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXXVII.
PAGE.

PAGE.
Report of Council .............. v
Associate Members............... xxix
Report of Finance Committee viii
Students.............................. xxxiii
Treasurer's Accounts............ x
Subscribers under Bye-Law 9 xxxv
Account of Subscriptions...... xii
Charter .............................. xxxvii
General Statement............... xiv
Bye-Laws ........................... xliii
Patrons .............................. xv
Federation of Mining Institutes 155
Honorary Members............... xv
Life Members ..................... xvi
Barometer Readings ............ 2G1
Officers.............................. xvii
Index ................................. 269
Original Members •............... xviii
Ordinary Members ............... xxvii
Abstracts of Foreign Papers, end of Proceedings.
GENERAL MEETINGS.
1887.

PAGE.
Oct. 8.—Paper on "A further attempt for the Correlation of the Coal Seams of the

Carboniferous Formation of the North of England, with some Notes on the Probable Duration

of the Coal Field," by Mr. M. Walton Brown ... .. ... ...

... ... ... ... 3
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 22
Paper on " The Pyrites Deposits of the Province of Huelva," by Mr. John Allan

... ... .., ... ... ... ... ...

27
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 45
Dec. 10.—" Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the observations of Earth

Tremors, with the view of determining their connection (if any) with the Issue of Gas in

Mines" ... ... ... ... ... 55
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 64
Paper " On a Gauzeless Safety-Lamp," by Mr. James McKinless ... 69
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 72
Paper on a " Description of a Miner's Safety-Lamp designed to meet the Requirements of the

Mines Regulation Act coming into force on January 1st, 1888," by Mr. Emerson Bainbridge

... ..." ... 75
Paper on "The Endless Chain in Spain," by Mr. George Lee... ... 81
1888.

Page.
Feb. 11.—Paper on "Notes on the Tkiboulli Coal-field (Caucasus)," by Mr. C. J.
Murton ...........................89
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 98
Paper "On an Improved form of Seismoscope," by Professor A. S. Herschel, D.C.L.,

F.R.S......................101
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

.. ... 112
Exhibition of a New Electric Miner's Safety-Lamp, by Mr. Urquhart 113 Paper on " Bornet's

Hand-Boring Machine," by Mr. E. L. Dumas ... 117 Paper on "Ackroyd and Best's Patent

Safety-Lamp Cleaning Machine," by Mr. William Ackroyd ... ... ..

... ... 121
Discussion on Mr. M. Walton Brown's Paper on " A further attempt for the Correlation of the

Coal Seams of the Carboniferous Formation of the North of England, with some Notes on the

Probable Duration of the Coal-field"........................123
April 14.—Presentation to Mr. Theo. Wood Bunning ... ... ...

... 129
Paper on " The Use of Iron Supports in the Main Roads of Mines instead of Masonry or

Timbering," by Mr. G. Meyer and Mr. W. J. Bird, A.Sc.

........................135
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 141
Paper on " Coal Nodules from the Bore-Hole Seam at Newcastle, New South Wales," by Mr. T.

E. Forster. M.A.............145
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 150
Paper on " Notes on the Horizon of the Low Main Seam in a portion of the Durham

Coal-field," by Mr. Hugh Brain well .........151
June 6.—Federation of Mining Institutes ... ... ... ...

... ... 155
Joint Meeting of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Midland

Institute of Mining, Civil, and Mechanical Engineers, and the South Wales Institute of

Engineers " On Mechanical Ventilators, 1888".................181
June 9.—" Keport of the Committee appointed to inquire into the Explosion of
an Air Receiver at Ryhope Colliery "... ... ... ... ... 197
Aug. 4.—Annual Meeting, Election of Officers, &c. ............219
Paper " On the Introduction of Steel Supports for the Maintenance of Main Roads in the

Mines of Cleveland," by Mr. A. L. Steavenson... 221
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... 244
Paper on u A Contribution to our Knowledge of Coal-Dust," by Professor P. Phillips Bedson,

D.Sc. ... ... ... ... ... 245
Discussed ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... .. 256
(V)
In presenting their Eeport for the year 1887-1888, the Council of the North of England

Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers may once more fairly congratulate the members

upon the continued prosperity and usefulness of the Institute.
Notwithstanding unusual claims upon its resources the accounts still show a balance in

favour of the Institute, its Transactions have not fallen below their accustomed standard,

and the Committees appointed to carry out special investigations have been of an important

character.
The number of new members elected during the year is 15, or, counting honorary members, 24.

During the same period there was a loss by death of 10 members, and by resignation of 23

members, whilst 10 were removed from the list for non-payment of their annual

contributions, making a total loss of 43 members.
The total number of members of all classes was 721 at the end of the year 1886-1887 and is

now 702. These are distributed as follows:—
1886-87. 1887-88.
Honorary members ... 21 ... 29
Original members ... 412 ... 390
Ordinary members ... 42 ... 41
Associate members ... 168 ... 173
Students......• ... 63 ... 53
Collieries ... ... ... 15 ... 16
The increase in the number of honorary members is due to the action of the Council, which,

it is hoped, that the present meeting, by adopting this Report, will ratify, in appointing

all H.M. Chief Inspectors of Mines honorary members of the Institute during their tenure of

office.
The necessarily constant decrease in the class of original members is considerably less

than in past years.
The number of ordinary members remains small and stationary, whilst there is an increase in

that of associate members. The Council have under consideration a scheme by which the

evident comparative popularity of the latter class may be still further heightened.
(vi)
The number of contributing collieries shows a slight increase.
The Exhibition, in the theatre of which the last Annual Meeting was held, and the inception

of which was entirely due to this Institute, may be claimed as a great success; and it is

with much satisfaction that the Council are able to announce that the guarantee of £1,000

will, in all probability, remain untouched in the hands of the Institute.
The proposals for a Federation of Mining Institutes made last year, in a remarkable and

carefully considered paper read by Mr. T. W. Bunning—the last public act of a devoted

servant of the Institute— has borne fruit. A meeting of members of this Council and

representatives of several of the other Institutes in the country was held in London in

June last, the proceedings of which will reach members very shortly. Another meeting, for

the further discussion of the matter from a more definite and practical standpoint, is to

be held before long at Sheffield. In this matter, therefore, satisfactory progress may be

reported.
In the secretarial department of the Institute material changes have taken place, owing to

the regretted resignation through ill-health of the Secretary, Mr. T. W. Bunning, whose

sudden and lamented death was to occur so soon after. These changes, the Council trust,

will tend towards economy without loss of efficiency. Professor G-. A. Lebour, M.A., of the

Durham College of Science, was appointed Secretary; and now that the College has migrated

to its handsome new buildings near the Leazes, may serve as a remaining link between the

two Institutions. The rooms freed by the removal of the College will, it is thought, be

capable of being used so as to add to the comfort and convenience of members.
The Institute has again been placed on the list of Corresponding Societies of the British

Association, and the Council have appointed the Secretary to act as delegate to the

forthcoming meeting at Bath.
In connection with the meeting of the Association at Newcastle in 1889, the following six

gentlemen have been nominated to represent the Institute on the Local General Committee

formed to carry out the necessary arrangements in this city :—Messrs. John' Marley, W. H.

Hedley, J. G-. Weeks, M. Walton Brown, Thomas Heppell, and the Secretary.
The Committee appointed some years ago to investigate the causes of the Ryhope receiver

explosion has terminated its labours and presented a valuable report which will very

shortly be in the hands of the members.
Two new and important committees have been nominated, and are now in full working order.

One, to report on fan ventilation, is a Joint
(vii)
Committee, in the work of which gentlemen from South Wales and the Midlands will take part.

The other, equally important, is to investigate the nature of flameless explosives.
The papers read during the year are the following:—
" A further attempt for the Correlation of the Coal Seams of the Carboniferous
Formation of the North of England; with some Notes on the Probable
Duration of the Coal-field." By Mr. M. Walton Brown. " On the Pyrites Deposits of

Huelva." By Mr. John Allan. " Report of the Committee on Earth Tremors." " The Endless

Chain in Spain." By Mr. George Lee. " On a Safety-Lamp designed to meet the Requirements

of the Mines Act, 1887."
By Mr. Emerson Bainbridge. " On the Coal-field of Tkiboulli (Caucasus)." By Mr. C. J.

Murton. "On an Improved form of Seismoscope." By Professor A. S. Herschel, D.C.L.,
F.R.S. "On Bornet's Hand Boring Machine." By Mr. E. L. Dumas. "On Ackroyd and Best's

Patent Safety-Lamp Cleaning Machine." By Mr. William
Ackroyd. " On the Use of Iron Supports in the Main Roads of Mines, instead of Masonry or
Timbering." By Mr. W. J. Bird, A.Sc. " On Coal Nodules from the Bore-Hole Seam at

Newcastle, New South Wales."
By Mr. T. E. Forster, M.A. " Notes on the Horizon of the Low Main Seam in a portion of the

Durham Coalfield." By Mr. Hugh Bramwell. " Report of the Ryhope Receiver Explosion

Committee." " Timber v, Steel in Mining." By Mr. A. L. Steavenson.
"A Contribution to our Knowledge of Coal-Dust." By Professor P. P. Bedson, D.Sc.
The close of the session was spent in an excursion to Scotland, which may be regarded as

having been very successful in spite of somewhat inclement weather.
fviii)
JfittEtta §Up0ri
The Income for the year 1887-88 amounted to £1,586 7s. 5cL, showing a decrease, when

compared with that of the preceding year, of £167 14s. lid., caused principally by the

non-payment by the Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Company of the second half-yearly

dividend, the estimated amount of which has been treated as an asset.
The Expenditure was £1,767 Is. 9d., being £200 9s. more than that of last year, and £180

14s. 4d. above the Income, due to some exceptional payments of large amount.
The total receipts for subscriptions and arrears were £1,307 7s., and the arrears of

subscriptions amount to £642 12s.
G. B. FORSTER. J. B. SIMPSON.
July 21st, 1888.
TREASURER IN ACCOUNT WITH THE NORTH OF ENGLAND Dr.

July 20th, 1887,
July 20, 1887.

£ s. d. £ s. d.
To Balance at Bankers ............... 395 1 10
„ ,, in Cashier's hands ... ... ... ...

14 10 2
---------------- 409 12 0
July 17, 1888. To Dividend of 8^ % per annum on 134 Shares of £20 each in the Institute and

Coal Trade Chambers Company,
Ltd., for the Half-Year ending December, 1887 ... 113 18 0
To Dividend for Second Half-Year, unpaid... ... ... „ „ „
To Interest on Investments with the River Tyne Commissioners ...........

......... 77 13 2
----------------- 191 11 2
To Bent of College Class Booms ...... ...... 48

8 8
To Sub criptions for 1887-88, as follows :—
307 Original Members............... 644 14 0
29 Ordinary do................ 89 5 0
118 Associate do................ 247 16 0
1 Do. paid as Life Member ... ...... 20 0 0
37 Students.................. 38 17 0
1 Do. paid as an Associate ... ... ... 110
1 New Ordinary Member............ 330
10 New Associate Members ... ... ... ... 21 0 0
1 Do. paid as Life Member... 20 0 0
1 New Student ................ 110
1,086 17 0
To Subscribing Collieries, &c, namely: —
Ashington ... ... ... ... £2 2 0
Birtley Iron Company... ... ... 660
Haswell............... 4 4 0
Hetton............... 10 10 0
Lambton ............ 10 10 0
Londonderry ... ... .... ... 10 10 0
Marquis of Bute ......... 10 10 0
North Hetton............ 6 6 0
liyhope ... ... ... ... ... 4 4 0
Seghill............... 220
South Iletton and Murton ... ... 440
Stella ............... 2 2 0
Throckley ............ 220
Victoria Garesfield ... ... ... 220
Wearmouth ... ... ... ... 440
The Bridgewater Trustees ... ... 660
----------------88 4 0
1,175 1 0
To Members'Arrears............ 123 18 0
To Students' do............. 4 4 0
To Arrears considered as Irrecoverable, but
since Paid ... ... ... ... 440
---------------- 132 6 0
----------------1,307 7 0
To Sale of Publications, per Andrew Beid, less 10 °/o Commission .....................

28 17 7
To Sale of Publications per Secretary ... ... ... 1030
•----------------39 0 7
£1,995 19 5
(XI)
INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
to July 17th, 1888.

Cb-
1888.
July 17.

£ s. d. £ s. d. By Andrew Beid:—
Publishing Accounts............... 449 12 0
Covers for Parts, Folding and Stitching ...... 33 9 3
Binding and Sewing Volumes ......... 26 2 2
Borings and Sections............... 10 3 0
Library..................... 15 14 8
Stationery and Circulars ............ 67 1 2
Postage..................... 40 6 1
b

----------------642 8 4
By Books for Library, in addition to amount paid A. Beid.., 58 8 7
By Printing and Stationery do. do. ... 3

15 1
By Abstracts of Foreign Papers ............ 54 15 10
By Secretary's Incidental Expenses and Postages...... 66 9 4
By Sundry Accounts and Payments............ 28 9 0
By Travelling Expenses ............... 14 5 0
By Secretary's Salary.................. 2§3 6 8
By Cashier's do................... 75 0 0
By Clerks' Wages .................. 164 18 9
By Beporter's Salary.................. 12 12 0
By Rent ..................... 77 15 3
By Bates and Taxes.................. 17 8 0
By Fire Insurance ... ... •¦• ••• ••• •¦•

" " H
By Furnishing, Repairs, &c................ 2 16 2
By Coals, Gas, and Water ............... 7 0 11 „„.,¦„
J

----------------875 15 6
By British Association Meeting—Delegate's Expenses ... 15 0 0
By Testimonial to Mr. T. W. Bunning ......... HO 0 0
By Alteration of Wood Memorial Hall Drains ...... 29 8 4
By Expenses in connection with the Visit of Engineers,
^»MB87 ... ,.............. J*J_J_ 2481711
By Balance at Bankers ............... 199 17 7
By Do. in Cashier's hands ............ 29 0 1 ,„„¦-_
J

-----------------228 17 8
Audited and found correct,
JOHN G. BENSON,
Chabterkb Accountant. Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
1st August, 1888.
£1,995 19 5
Dr. THE TREASURER IN ACCOUNT
£ s. d. To 412 Original Members, as per List, 1887-88,
10 of whom are Life Members.
402 @ £2 2s......................... 844 4 0
To 42 Ordinary Members, as per List, 1887-88, , 3 of whom are Life Members.
39'(36 @ £3 3s.; 3 @ £2 2s).................. 119 14 0
To 168 Associate Members, as per List, 1887-88, 7 of whom are Life Members.
161
1 paid as Life Member .................. 20 0 0
160 @ £2 2s......................... 336 0 0
To 63 Students, as per List, 1887-88.
_63@£lls......................... 66 3 0
To 1 Student paid extra as an Associate Member. ... ... ...

110
To 2 New Ordinary Members. @ £3 3s................ 6 6 0
To 12 New Associate Members,
1 paid as Life Member ..... ............ 20 0 0
11 @ £2 2s......................... 23 2 0
To 1 New Student @ £1 Is................... 110
To Subscribing Collieries, &c. ...... ... ... ... ...

88 4 0
1,525 15 0
To Arrears, as per Balance Sheet, 1886-87.........£519 15 0
Deduct—Irrecoverable ... ... ... ... ... 99 15 0
420 0 0 Add—Considered as irrecoverable, but since paid ... 4 4 0
---------------- 424 4 o
£1,949 19 0
(xiii) WITH SUBSCRIPTIONS, 1887-88. Cr.
PAID. UNPAID.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
By 307 Original Members paid (a) £2 2s....... 644 14 0 ......
By 82 Do. unpaid „ ......

...... 172 4 0
By 6 Do. dead „ ......

...... 12 12 0
By 2 Do. resigned „ ... ...

..... 4 4 0
By 2 Do. no address ,, ... ...

...... 4 4 0
By 3 Do. struck off „ ......

...... 6 6 0
402
By 27 Ordinary Members paid @ £3 3s....... 85 1 0

......
By 2 Do. „ @ £2 2s....... 4 4

0 ......
By 7 Do. unpaid (a) £3 3s....... ......

22 1 0
By 1 Do. „ (Si £2 2s.......

...... 2 2 0
By 1 Do. resigned (a £3 3s....... ......

3 3 0
By 1 Do. struck off @ £3 3s....... ......

3 3 0
39
By 118 Associate Members paid @ £2 2s....... 247 16 0 ......
By 36 Do. unpaid „ ......

...... 75 12 0
By 4 Do. resigned ,, ... ...

...... 880
By 2 Do. no address „ ......

...... 4 4 0
160
1 Do. paid as Life Member...... 20 0 0

......
By 37 Students paid @ £1 Is........... 38 17 0 .....
By 17 Do. unpaid „ ......... ......

17 17 0
By 4 Do. resigned „ ... ... ...

...... 4 4 0
By 4 Do. no address „ ......... ......

4 4 0
By 1 Do. struck off „ ......... ......

110
_63
By 1 Student paid extra as an Associate Member ... 1 1 0

......
By 1 New Ordinary Member paid @ £3 3s....... 3 3 0 ......
By 1 Do. do. unpaid „ ......

...... 3 3 0
~2
By 10 New Associate Members paid (a £2 2s....... 21 0 0

......
By 1 Do. do. unpaid „ ......

...... 2 2 0
JL1
By 1 Do. do. paid as Life Member ... 20 0

0 ......
By 1 New Student paid @ £1 Is.......... 110 ......
By Subscribing Collieries paid ............ 88 4 0 ......
1,175 1 0 350 14 0
By Members'Arrears ............... 123 18 0 250 19 0
By Students' do. ............... 4 4 0 40 19

0
By considered as irrecoverable, but since paid ... ... 44 0

......
1,307 7 0 642 12 0
------.......— 1,307 7 0
£1,949 19 0
Dr. GENERAL STATEMENT, JULY 17th, 1888.

Or.
£ s. d.

£ s. d. £ s. d.
None .................. ...... Balance of Account at

Bankers............ 199 17 7
Capital ..................11,709 6 8 Do_ in Cashier's hands

............ 29 0 1
----------------- 228 17 8
134 Shares of £20 each in the Institute and Coal Trade
Chambers Company, Limited... ... ... ...

2,680 0 0
Invested with the River Tyne Commissioners ...... 2,000 0

0
Arrears of Subscriptions ... ... ... ••• •••

642 12 0
Value of 492 Bound Volumes of Transactions. @ lis. 6d. 282 18 0 Value of 4,455 Sewn

Copies of Transactions, @ 9s. ... 2,004 15 0
Value of Sundry Unbound Parts of Transactions ... 80 0 0
Value of 35 Copies of Mr. T. F. Brown's Map, @. 5s. ... 8 15 0
Value of 382 Copies of General Index, @ 3s....... 57 6 0
Value of 760 Copies of Fossil Illustrations, @ 12s. 6d.... 475 0 0

^
Audited and found correct. Value of 852

Copies of Catalogue of Fossils, @ 5s. ... 213 0 0

3.
„ .„ , ,

Value of 313 Copies of Borings and Sinkings, Vol. I., @ 5s. 78 5 0

O-
(Share Certificates and Bonds produced.) Value of 328

Copies Do.' Do. Vol. II., @ 5s. 82 0 0
Value of 350 Copies Do. Do. Vol. III., @ 5s. 87 10 0
JOHN GL BENSON, Value of 471 Copies Do.

Do. Vol. IV, @ 5s. 117 15 0
Chartebed Accountant. Value of 1,500 Copies of Borings and

Sinkings, Vol. I.,
in Sheets .................. 300 0 0
Newcastle-on-Tyne,

Value of Sheets of Borings and Sinkings, Vol. V., un-
lst August, 1888.

published at date ... ... ... ...... 25 0 0
Value of 261 Copies of Library Catalogue, @ 5s. ... 6o 5 0
-----------------3,877 9 0
Value of Office Furniture and Fittings......... 450 0 0
Value of Books and Maps in Library ......... 1,750 0

0
Second Half-Year's Dividend on Shares in the Institute and Coal Trade Chambers Company,

Limited, estimated at 3 % .................. 80 8 0
£11,709 6 8

. £11,709 6 8
======

=======
(XV)
His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND.
His Grace the DUKE OE CLEVELAND.
The Most Noble the MARQUESS OE LONDONDERRY
The Right Honourable the EARL OF LONSDALE.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF DURHAM.
The Right Honourable the EARL GREY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF RAVENSWORTH.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF WHARNCLIFFE.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
The Very Reverend the DEAN AND CHAPTER OF DURHAM.
WENTWORTH B. BEAUMONT, Esq., M.P.
§o\wmx% Utabens.
-------- Elected.
* Honorary Members during term of office only. Mem. Hon.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF RAVENS WORTH, Ravens-
worth Castle, Gateshead-on-Tyne... ... ... ... ..

1877
* Prof. P. PHILLIPS BEDSON, D.Sc. (Lond.), F.G.S., Durham
College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... ...

1883
* THOMAS BELL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Durham ......
M. DE BOUREUILLE, Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur,
Conseiller d'etat, Inspecteur General des Mines, Paris ... 1853
* Prop. G. S. BRADY, M.D., P.R.S., F.L.S., Durham College of
Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... ... ...

1875
De. BRASSERT, Berghauptmann, Bonn-am-Rhein, Prussia ... 1883
Dr. H. VON DECHEN, Berghauptmann, Bonn-am-Rhein, Prussia... 1853
JOSEPH DICKINSON, Esq., F.G.S., Inspector of Mines, Manchester 1853
* C. LE NEVE FOSTER, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Llandudno ... 1888
* Prof. WILLIAM GARNETT, M.A., D.C.L., Principal of the Durham
College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... ...

1884
* HENRY HALL, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Rainhill, Prescott ... 1876
* Prof. A. S. HERSCHEL, M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., Durham
College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... ...

1872
The Very Ret. Dr. LAKE, Dean of Durham ......... 1872
* Prof. G. A. LEBOUR, M.A., F.G.S., Durham College of Science,
Newcastle-on-Tyne .................. 1873 1879
J. A. LONGRIDGE, Esq., Greve d'Ayette, Jersey ......... 1886
* J. S. MARTIN, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Clifton ......... 1888
* RALPH MOORE, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Glasgow ...... 1866
* A. E. PINCHING, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Stoke, Devonport ... 1888
* JOSEPH T. ROBSON, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Swansea...... 1888
(xvi)
Elected.
Mew. Ho>r,
* J. M. RONALDSON, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 44, Atliole Gardens,
Glasgow ........................ 1888
* W. B. SCOTT, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Parkdale, Wolverhampton.., 1888

Sir WARINGTON W. SMYTH, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S.,
28, Jermyn Street, London ... ... ... ... ...

1869
* A. H. STOKES, Esq., Inspector of Mines, Greenhill, Derby...... 1888
M. E. VUILLEMIN, Mines d'Aniche, Nord, France ...... 1878
* FRANK N. WARD ELL, Esq., P.G.S., Inspector of Mines, Wath-on-
Dearne, near Rotherham ... ... ... ... ... 1864

1868
* JAMES WILLIS, Esq., Inspector of Mines, 14, Portland Terrace,
Newcastle-on-Tyne..................... 1857 1871
THOMAS WYNNE, Esq., F.G.S., Inspector of Mines, Manor House,
Gnosall, Stafford..................... 1853
Mai. I.ifk.
G. W. BARTHOLOMEW, Esq.. Blakesley Hall, near Towcester ... 1875 1875
THOS. HUGH BELL, Esq., Middlesbro'-on-Tees .... ...... 1882 1882
DAVID BURNS, Esq., C.E., F.G.S., Canal Bank, Carlisle...... 1877 1877
T. E. CANDLER, Esq., F.G.S., Hong Kong Club, Hong Kong, China 1875 1885
E. B. COX E, Esq., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O., Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S. ... 1873 1874
JAMES S. DIXON, Esq., 170, Hope Street, Glasgow ...... 1878 1880
ERNEST HAGUE, Esq., Castle Dyke, Sheffield ......... 1872 1876
G. C. HEWITT, Esq., Coal Pit Heath Colliery, near Bristol ... 1871 1879
JAMES HILTON, Esq., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Limited, Wigan... 1867 1883
THOS. E. JOBLING, Esq., Croft Villa, Blyth, Northumberland ... 1876 1882
ROBERT KNOWLES, Esq.,Arncliffe, Cheetham Hill, Manchester... 1886 1886 HENRY

LAPORTE, Esq., M.E., Acieries de France, Aubin, Aveyron,
France ........................ 1877 1877
W. MERIVALE, Esq., District Engineer's Office, Indian Midland
Railway, Sangur, India .................. 1881 1884
NATHAN MILLER, Esq., 31, Hyde Lane, Hyde, near Manchester 1878 1878
H. J. MORTON, Esq., 2, Westbourne Villas, South Cliff, Scarborough 1856 1861
RUDOLPH NASSE, Esq., Oberbergrath, Saarbrucken, Prussia ... 1869 1880
ARTHUR PEASE, Esq., Darlington............... 1882 1882
EDWARD G. PRIOR, Esq., Victoria, British Columbia ...... 1880 1883
WALTER SAISE, D.Sc. (London), M. Inst. C.E., Manager E.I.R.
Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India............... 1877 1887
R, CLIFFORD SMITH, Esq., F.G.S., Ashford Hall, Bakewell ... 1874 1874 JOHN

EMANUEL TYERS, Mohpani Coal Mines, Gadawarra.
India, C.P. ..................... 1887
T. II. WARD, Esq., F.G.S., Assistant Manager, East Indian Railway
Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India............... 1882 1882
life lumbers.
(xvii) OFFICERS, 1888-89.
§raibettt.
JOHN MARLEY, Esq., Thornfield, Darlington.
fia-lmibntk
CUTHBERT BERKLEY, Esq., Marley Hill, Whickham, R.S.O., Co. Durh T. J. BEWICK, Esq.,

M.I.C.E., F.G.S., Suffolk House, Laurence Pountnej
near London, E.C. WM. COCHRANE, Esq., Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on-Tyne. THOMAS

DOUGLAS, Esq., Peases' West Collieries, Darlington. A. L. STEAVENSON, Esq., Durham. JAMES

WILLIS, Esq., 14, Portland Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Cntttwl
WM, ARMSTRONG, Jun., Esq., Wingate, County Durham.
J. B. ATKINSON, Esq., Stocksfield-on-Tyne.
T. W. BENSON, Esq., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. F. BOYD, Esq., Houghton-le-Spring, Fence Houses, County Durham.
M. WALTON BROWN, Esq., 3, Summerhill Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
S. C. CRONE, Esq., Killingworth Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
W. H. HEDLEY, Esq., Consett Collieries, Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne
HENRY LAWRENCE, Esq., Grange Iron Works, Durham.
T. LISHMAN, Esq., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
W. LISHMAN, Esq., Bunker Hill, Fence Houses.
G. MAY, Esq., Harton Colliery Offices, South Shields.
Prof. J. H. MERIVALE, M.A., 2, Victoria Villas, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
R. ROBINSON, Esq., Howlish Hall, near Bishop Auckland.
J. B. SIMPSON, Esq., F.G.S., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
T. H. M. STRATTON. Esq., Cramlington House, Northumberland.
J. G. WEEKS, Esq., Bedlington, R.S.O., Northumberland.
W. II. WOOD, Esq., Coxhoe Hall, Coxhoe, County Durham.
W. O. WOOD, Esq., South Hetton, Sunderland.
' Lord ARMSTRONG, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., D.C.L.. Jesmond, Newcastle. ] Sir LOWTHIAN

BELL, Bart., F.R.S., F.C.S., Rounton Grange,
Northallerton. E. F. BOYD, Esq., F.G.S., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses. JOHN DAGLISH,

Esq., F.G.S., Marsden, South Shields. I
Sir GEORGE ELLIOT, Bart., M.P., D.C.L., Houghton Hall, Fence f.
Houses. G. B. FORSTER, Esq., M.A., E.G.S., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland. G. C. GREEN

WELL, Esq., F.G.S., Elm Tree Lodge, Duffield, Derby. j
LINDSAY WOOD, Esq., The Hermitage, Chester-le-Street. J
WM. ARMSTRONG, Sen., Esq., F.G.S., Pelaw House, I Retiring
Chester-le-Street. j Vice-Preside:
Prof. G. A. LEBOUR, M.A., F.G.S.. Neville Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
c
1 Aitkin, Henry, Falkirk, N.B...................Mar. 2,1865
2 Anderson, C. W., Belvedere, Harrogate ............Aug. 21, 1852
3 Andrews, Hugh, Swarland Hall, Felton, Northumberland...... Oct. 5,1872
4 Archer, T., Dunston Engine Works, Gateshead .........July 2,1872
5 Armstrongs Lord, C.B., LL.D., P.B.S., D.C.L., Jesmond, Newcastle-
on-Tyne (Past-President, Member of Council) ......May 3,1866
6 Armstrong, Wm., P.G.S., Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street (Retiring
Vice-President, Member of Council) ............Aug. 21, 1852
7 Armstrong, W., Jun., Wingate, Co. Durham (Member of Council) April 7, 1867
8 Armstrong, W. L., Newton Lane Colliery, Victoria Coal and Coke Co.,
Limited, near Wakefield ..................Mar. 3, 1864
9 Arthur, D.,M.E., Sherfin House, Baxenden, nr. Accrington, Manchester Aug. 4, 1877
10 Ashworth, James, Stanley Hall, near Derby............Feb. 5,1876
11 Asquith, T. W., Harperley, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Feb. 2, 1867
12 Atkinson, J. B., Stocksfield-on-Tyne (Member of Council)......Mar. 5, 1870
13 Atkinson, W. N., Shincliffe Hall, Durham ............June 6,1868
14 Aubrey, R. C, Wigan Coal & Iron Co., Ld., Standish, near Wigan ... Feb. 5, 1870
15 Austine, John, Cadzow Coal Co., Glasgow ............Nov. 4, 1876
16 Aynsley, Wm., Chilton Colliery, Ferry Hill ............Mar. 3, 1873
17 Bailes, George, Murton Colliery, Sunderland .........Feb. 3,1877
18 Bailes, T., Jesmond Gardens, Newcastle ............Oct. 7, 1858
19 Bailey, Samuel, Perry Barr, Birmingham ............June 2, 1859
20 Bain, R. Donald, 85, Pembroke Road, Clifton, Bristol ......Mar. 3,1873
21 Bainbridge, E., Nunnery Colliery Offices, Sheffield.........Dec. 3,1863
22 Banks, Thomas, 60, King Street, Manchester............Aug. 4, 1877
23 Bartholomew, C, Castle Hill House, Ealing, London, W.......Aug. 5,1853
24*Bartholomew, C. W., Blakesley Hall, near Towcester ......Dec. 4, 1875
25 Bates, Matthew, .....................Mar. 3 1874
26 Bates, W. J., Winlaton, Blaydon-on-Tyne ............Mar. 3,1874
27 Batey, John, Newbury Collieries, Coleford, Bath .........Dec. 5, 1868
28 Beanlands, Arthur, M.A., Palace Green, Durham.........Mar. 7, 1867
29 Bell, Sir Lowthian, Bart., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.C.S., Rounton Grange,
Northallerton, (Past-President, Member of Council)......July 6, 1854
30 Benson, J. G., Accountant, 12, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 7,1874
31 Benson, T. W., 11, Newgate Street, Newcastle (Member of Council) Aug. 2, 1866
(XT111)
AUGUST, 1888. Marked * are Life Members.
(xix)
^»

ELECTED.
32 Berkley, O, Marley Hill, Whickham, R.S.O., Co. Durham (Vice-
President) ........................Aug. 21, 1852
33 Bewick, T. J., M.I.C.E., F.G.S., Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney
Hill, near London (Vice-President) ...... ... ... April 5, 1860
34 Bigland, J., Bedford Lodge, Bishop Auckland .........June 4,1857
35 Biram, B., Peaseley Cross Collieries, St. Helen's, Lancashire ...

1856
36 Black, W., Hedworth Villa, South Shields ............April 2, 1870
37 Bolton, H. H., Newchurch Collieries, near Manchester ... ... Dec. 5,

1868
38 Booth, R. L., Ashington Colliery, near Morpeth ... ... ...

1864
39 Boyd, E. F., F.G.S., Moor House, Leamside, Fence Houses (Past-
President, Member of Council) ...............Aug. 21, 1852
40 Boyd, R. F., Houghtoti-le-Spring, Fence Houses, County Durham
(Member of Council) ... ... ... ... ... ...

Nov. 6, 1869
41 Boyd, Wm., North House, Longbenton, Newcastle-on-Tyne......Feb. 2, 1867
42 Breckon, J. R., 41, Fawcett Street, Sunderland .........Sept. 3,1864
43 Brettell, T., Mine Agent, Dudley, Worcestershire.........Nov. 3, 1866
44 Bromilow, Wm., Preesgweene, near Chirk, North Wales ......Sept. 2, 1876
45 Brown, John, Priory Place, 155, Bristol Road, Birmingham ... Oct. 5,1854
46 Brown, Thos. Forster, F.G.S., Guildhall Chambers, Cardiff ...

1861
47 Browne, Sir Benjamin O, M.I.C.E., Westacres, on-Tyne ........................Oct. 48 Bryham, William, Rosebridge Colliery, Wigan 49 Bryham, W., Jun., Douglas Bank Collieries, Wigan 50*Burns, David, C.E., F.G.S., Canal Bank, Carlisle 51 Burrows, J. S., Yew Tree House, Atherton, near Manchester 52 Campbell, W. B., Consulting Engineer, Grey Street, Newcastle 53 Carr, Wm. Cochran, South Benwell, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... 54 Chambers, A. M., Thorncliffe Iron Works, near Sheffield 55 Cheesman, I. T., Throckley Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne 56 Cheesman, W. T., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Hartlepool 57 Clark, C. F., Garswood Coal and Iron Co., Limited, near Wigan 58 Clark, R. B., Springwell Colliery, Gateshead............May 59 Clark, W., M.E., The Grange, Teversall, near Mansfield 60 Clarke, William, Victoria Engine Works, Gateshead 61 Cochrane, B., Aldin Grange, Durham...............Dec. 62 Cochrane, C, Green Royde, Pedmore, near Stourbridge 63 Cochrane, W., St. John's Chambers, Grainger (Vice-President) ...... ............... 64 Cole, Richard, Walker Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne 65 Cole, Robert Heath, Endon, Stoke-upon-Trent 66 Collis, W. B., Swinford House, Stourbridge, Worcestershire Benwell, Newcastle-
1,1870
.........Aug. 1, 1861
......Aug. 3, 1865
.........May 5,1877
... Oct. 11, 1873
... Oct. 7, 1876
... Dec. 3, 1857
......Mar. 6, 1869
......Feb. 1,1873
......Feb. 5, 1876
... Aug. 2, 1866
3,1873
......April 7, 1866
......Dec. 7, 1867
6,1866
.......lune 3,1857
Street West, Newcastle
1859
......April 5, 1873
.........Feb. 5,1876
... June 6,

1861
67 Cook, J., Jun., Washington Iron Works, Gateshead.........May 8, 1869
68 Corbett, V. W., Chilton Moor, Fence Houses .........Sept. 3, 1870
69 Corbitt, M., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead ... ... Dec. 4,

1875
70 Coulson, F., 10, Victoria Terrace, Durham ... ... ... ...

Aug. 1, 1868
71 Coulson, W., High Coniscliffe, Darlington ............Oct. 1, 1852
(xx;
ELECTED.
72 Cowey, John, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland .........Nov. 2,1872
73 Cox, JohkH., 10, St. George's,Square, Sunderland ... ......Feb. 6,1875
74*Coxe, E. B., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O. Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S. ... Feb. 1,

1873
75 Crawford, T., 3, Grasmere Street, Gateshead-on-Tyne ...... Sept. 3,1884
76 Cbawshay, E., Gateshead-on-Tyne ......... ...... Dec. 4,1869
77 Crawshay, G., Gateshead-on-Tyne ............... Dec. 4,1869
78 Crone, E. W., Killingworth Hall, near Newcastle-on-Tyne...... Mar. 5,1870
, 79 Crone, J. R., Tudlioe House, via Spennymoor............ Feb. 1. 1868
80 Crone, S. C, Killingworth Hall, Newcastle (Member of Council) ...

1853
81 Cross, John, 77, King Street, Manchester ............June 5,1869
82 Croudace, C. J., Bettisfield Colliery Co., Limited, Bagillt, N. Wales Nov. 2,

1872
83 Ceoudace, John, West House, Haltwhistle ............June 7,1873
84 Croudace, Thomas, 16, Lower Park Field, Putney, London...... 1862
85 Daglish, John, F.G.S., Marsden, South Shields (Past-President.
Member of Council).....................Aug. 21, 1852
86 Daglish, W. S., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne............July 2, 1872
87 Dale, David, West Lodge, Darlington...............Feb. 5, 1870
88 D'Andrimont, T., Liege, Belgium ...............Sept. 3, 1870
89 Daniel, W., Steam Plough Works, Leeds ............June 4, 1870
90 Darling, Fenwick, South Durham Colliery, Darlington ......Nov. 6, 1875
91 Darlington, James, Black Park Colliery, Ruabon, North Wales ... Nov. 7,1874
92 Davey, Henry, C.E., 3 Princes Street, Westminster, London, S.W. Oct. 11, 1873
93 Dees, R. R., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Oct. 7, 1871
94 Dixon, D. W., Lumpsey Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 2, 1872
95 Dixon, Nich., Dudley Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ......Sept. 1,1877
96 Dixon, R., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead ......June 5, 1875
97 Dodd, B., Bearpark Colliery, near Durham ............May 3, 1866
98 Dodds, Joseph, M.P., Stockton-on-Tees ............Mar. 7,1874
99 Douglas, C. P., Parliament Street, Consett, Co. Durham ......Mar. 6, 1869
100 Douglas, T., Peases'West Collieries, Darlington (Vice-President)... Aug. 21,1852
101 Dove, G., Viewfield, Stanwix, Carlisle...............July 2,1872
102 Dowdeswell, H, Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington ......April 5,1873
103 Dyson, George, Middlesbro' ..................June 2, 1866
104 ELLIOT, Sir George, Bart., M.P., D.C.L., Houghton Hall, Fence
Houses, (Past-President, Member of Council)......... Aug. 21, 1852
105 Elsdon, Robert, 76, Manor Road, Upper New Cross, London ... Nov. 4, 1876
106 Embleton, T. W., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds .......... Sept. 6, 1855
107 Embleton, T. W., Jun., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds......... Sept. 2,1865
108 Eminson, J. B., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour ... ... Mar.

2, 1872
109 Everakd, J. B., M.E., 6, Millstone Lane, Leicester ......... Mar. 6,1869
110 Farmer, A., Seaton Carew, near West Hartlepool .........Mar. 2, 1872
111 Favell, Thomas M., F.G.S.. Etruria Iron Works, near Stoke-on-Trent April 5,1873
112 Fenwick, Barnabas, 84, Osborne Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Aug. 2,1866
113 Ferens, Robinson, Oswald Hall, near Durham ... ......April 7,1877
(xxi)
•

ELECTED,
114 Fletcher, H., Ladyshore Coll., Little Lever, Bolton, Lancashire ... Aug. 3, 1865
115 Fletcher, Jas., Manager, Co-operative Collieries, Wallsend, near
Newcastle, New South Wales ...............Sept. 11, 1875
116 Fletcher, John, Rock House, Ulverstone ... .. ... ... July

2, 1872
117 Fogg in, War, North Biddick Coll., Washington Station, Co. Durham Mar. 6, 1875
118 Forster, G. B., M.A., F.G.S., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland
(Past-President, Member of Council) ... ... ... ... Nov. 5,1852
119 Forster, J. R., Water Company's Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... July

2,1872
120 Forstek, J. T., Burnhope Colliery, near Lanchester, Co. Durham ... Aug. 1, 1868
121 Forster, R., 25, Old Elvct, Durham ...............Sept. 5,1868
122 Foster, George, Osmondthorpe Colliei-y, near Leeds ... ... ... Mar.

7,1874
123 France, Francis, St. Helen's Colliery Co., Ld., St. Helen's, Lancashire Sept. 1,

1877
124 Galloway, T. Lindsay, M.A., Argyll Colliery, Campbeltown, N.B. Sept. 2, 1876
125 Gerrard, John, Westgate, Wakefield...............Mar. 5,187°
126 Gillett, F. C, 20, Midland Road, Derby ...... ......July 4,1861
127 Gllroy, G., Woodlands, Parbold, near Wigan............Aug. 7, 1856
128 Gilroy, S. B., Mining Engineer, Hednesford, Stafford ......Sep*. 5,1868
129 Gjers, John, Southfield Villas, Middlesbro' ............June 7,1873
130 Goddard, F. R., Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... Nov.

7, 1874
131 Gordon, James N., c/o W. Nicolson, 5, Jeffrey's Square, St. Mary
Axe, London, E.C......................Nov. 6,1875
132 Grace, E. N., Dhadka, Asansol, Bengal, India......... ... Feb. 1, 1868
133 Greaves, J. O., St. John's, Wakefield...............Aug. 7,1862
134 Green, J. T., Mining Engineer, Ty Celyn, Abercarne, Newport, Mon. Dec. 3, 1870
135 Greener, John, General Manager, Vale Coll., New Glasgow, Pictou,
Nova Scotia ........................Feb. 6,1875
136 Green well, G. C, F.G.S., Elm Tree Lodge, Duffield, Derby (Past-
President, Member of Council)............ ... Aug. 21, 1852
137 Greenwell, G. C, Jun., Poynton, near Stockport .........Mar. 6,1869
138 Grey, C. G., Ballycourcy, Enniscorthy, County Wexford ......May 4, 1872
139 Grieves, D., Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, County Durham ... Nov. 7, 1874
140 Griffith, N. R., Wrexham ................... 1866
141 Grimshaw, E. J., 23, Hardshaw Street, St. Helen's, Lancashire ... Sept. 5,

1868
142 Haggie, D. H, Wearmouth Patent Rope Works, Sunderland ... Mar. 4, 1876

143*Hague, Ernest, Castle Dyke, Sheffield ............Mar. 2,1872
144 Haines, J. Richard, Adderley Green Colliery, near Longton ... Nov. 7,

1874
145 Hales, C, Nerquis Cottage, Nerquis, near Mold, Flintshire ... ...

1865
146 Hall, M., Lofthouse Station Collieries, near Wakefield ... ... Sept.

5, 1868
147 Hall, M.S., 8, Victoria Street, Bishop Auckland .........Feb. 14, 1874
148 Hall, W«., Murton Colliery, via Sunderland............Dec. 4,1875
149 Hall, William F., Haswell Colliery, Haswell, via Sunderland ... May 13, 1858
150 Hann, Edmund, Aberaman, Aberdare ... ... ... ... ...

Sept. 5, 1868
151 Harbottle, W. H., Orrell Coal and Cannel Co., near Wigan ... Dec.

4,1875
152 Harg reaves, William, Roth well Haigh, Leeds ... ... ...

Sept. 5,1868
153 Harle, Richard, Browney Colliery, Durham......... ... April 7,1877
{XX)
ELECTED.
72 Cowey, John, Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland .........Nov. 2,1872
73 Cox, John H., 10, St. George's Square, Sunderland ... ......Feb. 6,1875
74*Coxe, E. B., Drifton, Jeddo, P.O. Luzerne Co., Penns., U.S. ... Feb. 1,

1873
75 Crawford, T., 3, Grasmere Street, Gateshead-on-Tyne ...... Sept. 3,1884
76 Crawshay, E., Gateshead-on-Tyne ......... ...... Dec. 4,1869
77 Craws ray, G., Gateshead-on-Tyne ............... Dec. 4,1869
78 Crone, E. W., Killingworth Hall, near Newcastle-on-Tyne...... Mar. 5, 1870
79 Crone, J. R., Tudboe House, via Spennymoor............ Feb. 1. 1868
80 Crone, S. C, Killingworth Hall, Newcastle (Member of Council) ...

1853
81 Cross, John, 77, King Street, Manchester ............ June 5,1869
82 Croudace, C. J., Betfcisfield Colliery Co., Limited, Bagillt, N. Wales Nov. 2,

1872
83 Croudace, John, West House, Haltwhistle .............Tune 7,1873
84 Croudace, Thomas, 16, Lower Park Field, Putney, London...... 1862
85 Daglish, John, F.G.S., Marsden, South Shields (Past-President.
Member of Council) ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Aug. 21, 1852
86 Daglish, W. S., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne............ July 2, 1872
87 Dale, Dayid, West Lodge, Darlington............... Feb. 5, 1870
88 D'Andrimont, T., Liege, Belgium ............... Sept. 3,1870
89 Daniel, W., Steam Plough Works, Leeds ............ June 4, 1870
90 Darling, Fenwick, South Durham Colliery, Darlington ...... Nov. 6, 1875
91 Darlington, James, Black Park Colliery, Ruabon, North Wales ... Nov. 7, 1874
92 Davey, Henry, C.E., 3 Princes Street, Westminster, London, S.W. Oct. 11, 1873
93 Dees, R. R., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............ Oct. 7, 1871
94 Dixon, D. W., Lumpsey Mines, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea ... Nov. 2,

1872
95 Dixon, Nich., Dudley Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ...... Sept. 1, 1877
96 Dixon, R., Wire Rope Manufacturer, Teams, Gateshead ...... June 5, 1875
97 Dodd, B., Bearpark Colliery, near Durham ............ May 3, 1866
98 Dodds, Joseph, M.P., Stockton-on-Tees ............ Mar. 7,1874
99 Douglas, C. P., Parliament Street, Consett, Co. Durham ...... Mar. 6, 1869
100 Douglas, T., Peases'West Collieries, Darlington (Vice-President)... Aug. 21,1852
101 Dove, G., Viewfield, Stanwix, Carlisle...............July 2,1872
102 Dowdeswell, H., Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington ... ... April

5,1873
103 Dyson, George, Middlesbro' ..................June 2,1866
104 Elliot, SlB George, Bart., M.P., D.C.L., Houghton Hall, Fence
Houses, (Past-President, Member of Council).........Aug. 21, 1852
105 Elsdon, Robert, 76, Manor Road, Upper New Cross, London ... Nov. 4, 1876
106 Embleton, T. W., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds .........Sept. 6, 1855
107 Embleton, T. W., Jun., The Cedars, Methley, Leeds.........Sept. 2, 1865
108 Eminson, J. B., Londonderry Offices, Seaham Harbour ... ... Mar.

2, 1872
109 Everakd, J. B., M.E., 6, Millstone Lane, Leicester .........Mar. 6,1869
110 Farmer, A., Seaton Carew, near West Hartlepool ... ... ... Mar.

2, 1872
111 Favell, Thomas M., F.G.S.. Etruria Iron Works, near Stoke-on-Trent April 5,1873
112 Fenwick, Barnabas, 84, Osborne Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Aug. 2, 1866
113 Ferens, Robinson, Oswald Hall, near Durham ... ......April 7,1877
(xxi)
¦*•?

ELECTED,
114 Fletcher, H., Ladyshore Coll., Little Lever, Bolton, Lancashire ... Aug. 3, 1865
115 Fletcher, Jas., Manager, Co-operative Collieries, Wallsend, near
Newcastle, New South Wales ...... .........Sept. 11, 1875
116 Fletcher, John, Rock House, Ulverstone ... .. ... ...

July 2,1872
117 Fogg in, Wm., North Biddick Coll., Washington Station, Co. Durham Mar. 6, 1875
118 Forster, G. B., M.A., F.G.S., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland
(Past-President, Member of Council) ... ... ... ... Nov. 5, 1852
119 Forster, J. R., Water Company's Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... July

2,1872
120 Forster, J. T., Burnhope Colliery, near Lanchester, Co. Durham ... Aug. 1,

1868
121 Forster, R., 25, Old Elvet, Durham ...............Sept. 5,1868
122 Foster, George, Osmondthoime Colliery, near Leeds ... ... ... Mar.

7,1874
123 France, Francis, St. Helen's Colliery Co., Ld., St. Helen's, Lancashire Sept. 1,

1877
124 Galloway, T. Lindsay, M.A., Argyll Colliery, Campbeltown, N.B. Sept. 2, 1876
125 Gerrard, John, Westgate, Wakefield...............Mar. 5, 187°
126 Gillett, F. C, 20, Midland Road, Derby ...... ......July 4,1861
127 Gilroy, G., Woodlands, Parbold, near Wigan............Aug. 7, 1856
128 Gilroy, S. B., Mining Engineer, Hednesford, Stafford ......SepJ. 5, 1868
129 Gjers, John, Southfield Villas, Middlesbro' ............June 7, 1873
130 Goddard, F. R., Accountant, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ... ... Nov.

1852
137 Greenwell, G. C, Jun., Poynton, near Stockport ... ... ...

Mar. 6,1869
138 Grey, C. G., Ballycourcy, Enniscorthy, County Wexford ......May 4,1872
139 Grieves, D., Brancepeth Colliery, Willington, County Durham ... Nov. 7, 1874
140 Griffith, N. R., Wrexham .................. 1866
141 Grimshaw, E. J., 23, Hardshaw Street, St. Helen's, Lancashire ... Sept.

5,1868
142 Haggie, D. H, Wearmouth Patent Rope Works, Sunderland ... Mar. 4, 1876

143*Hague, Ernest, Castle Dyke, Sheffield ............Mar. 2,1872
144 Haines, J. Richard, Adderley Green Colliery, near Longton ... Nov. 7,

1874
145 Hales, C, Nerquis Cottage, Nerquis, near Mold, Flintshire ... ...

1865
146 Hall, M., Lofthouse Station Collieries, near Wakefield ... ... Sept.

5, 1868
147 Hall, M.S., 8, Victoria Street, Bishop Auckland .........Feb. 14, 1874
148 Hall, Wm., Murton Colliery, via Sunderland............Dec. 4,1875
149 Hall, William F., Haswell Colliery, Haswell, via Sunderland ... May 13, 1858
150 Hann, Edmund, Aberaman, Aberdare ... ... ... ... ...

Sept. 5, 1868
151 Harbottle, W. H, Orrell Coal and Cannel Co., near Wigan ... Dec.

4,1875
152 Harg reaves, William, Roth well Haigh, Leeds ... ... ... Sept.

5,1868
153 Harle, Richard, Browney Colliery, Durham......... ... April 7,1877
(xxii)
ELECTED.
154 Harle, William, Pagebank Colliery, near Durham.........Oct. 7,1876
155 Harrison, R., Eastwood, near Nottingham ............ 1861
156 Harrison, W. B., Brownhills Collieries, near Walsall ......April 6, 1867
157 Hay, J., Jun., Widdrington Colliery, Acldington .........Sept. 4,1869
158 Redely, J. J., Consett Collieries, Leadgate, County Durham ... April 6,

1872
159 Hedley, J. L., Flooker's Brook, Chester ......... ... Feb. 5, 1870
160 Hedley, W. H., Consett Collieries, Medomsley, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) ... ... ... ... ...

... 1864
161 Henderson, H., Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......... Feb. 14, 1874
162 Heppele, T., Leafield House, Birtley, Chester-le-Street ...... Aug. 6, 1863
163 Heppell, W., Western Hill, Durham............... Mar. 2,1872
164 Herd man, J., Park Crescent, Bridgend, Glamorganshire ...... Oct. 4,1860
165 Heslop, C, Upleatham&LingdaleMines, Upleatham, R.S.0.,Yorks ... Feb. 1,1868
166 Heslop, Grainger, Whitwell Coal Company, Sunderland ...... Oct. 5,1872
167 Hetherington, D., Coxlodge Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne...... 1859
168*Hewitt, G. C, Coal Pit Heath Colliery, near Bristol ...... June 3,

1871
169 Hewlett, A., Haseley Manor, Warwick ............Mar. 7,1861
170 Higson, Jacob ......... ............... 1861
171 * Hilton, J., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Limited, Wigan ... ... Dec.

7,1867
172 Hilton, T. W., F.G.S., Wigan Coal and Iron Co., Limited, Wigan ... Aug. 3, 1865
173 Holliday, Martin F., Langley Grove, Durham .........May 1,1875
174 Holmes, C, Grange Hill, near Bishop Auckland ... ......April 11, 1874
175 Homer, Charles J., Mining Engineer, Stoke-on-Trent ... ... Aug. 3,

1865
176 Hood, A., 6, Bute Crescent, Cardiff ...............April 18, 1861
177 Hope, George, Success House, Fence Houses ... ... ... ... Feb.

3, 1877
178 Hornsby, H., Rodridge House, Wingate, R.S.O., Co. Durham ... Aug. 1, 1874
179 Hoksley, W., Whitehill Point, Percy Main, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 5,1857
180 Hoskold, II. D., C. and M.E., F.R.G.S., F.G.S., M. Soc. A., &c,
Inspector General of Mines of the Argentine Republic, and Director of the National

Department of Mines and Geology,
Casilla, Correos, 900, Buenos Ayres...............April 1,1871
181 Howard, W. F., 13, Cavendish Street, Chesterfield .........Aug. 1, 1861
182 Humble, John, West Pelton, Chester-le-Street ... ......Mar.

4,1871
183 Humble, Jos., Staveley Works, near Chesterfield ... ... ... June

2,1866
184 Hunter, J., Waratah Coal Co., Charlestown, N.S. Wales, Australia... Mar. 6, 1869
185 Hurst, T. G., F.G.S., Osborne Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Aug. 21, 1852
186 Jackson, C. G., Chamber Colliery Co., Limited, Hollinwood ... ... June 4,

1870
187 Jackson, W. G., Loscoe Grange, Normanton, Yorkshire ... ... June 7,

1873
188 Jarratt, J., Houghton Main Colliery, near Barnsley ... ... ... Nov.

2, 1867
189 Jefecock, T. W., 18, Bank Street, Sheffield ............ Sept. 4,1869
190 Jenkins, W., M.E., Ocean Collieries, Treorky, Glamorgan ... ... Dec.

6, 1862
191 Jenkins, Wm., Consett Iron Works, Consett, Durham ... ... May

2, 1874
192 Johnson, J., Carlton Main Colliery, Barnsley............ Mar. 7, 1874
193 Johnson, R. S., Sherburn Hall, Durham ... ... ... ...

Aug. 21, 1852
194 Joicey, J. G., Forth Banks West Factory, Ne\vcastle-on-Tyne ... April

10,1869
195 Joicey, W. J., Urpeth Lodge, Chester-le-Street ......... Mar. 6,1869
(xxiii)
•«^* ELECTED.
196 Kendall, John D., Roper Street, Whitehaven .........Oct. 3, 1874
197 Kimpton, J. G., 40, St. Mary's Gate, Derby ............Oct. 5, 1872
198 Kirkby, J. W., Kirkland, Leven, Fife...............Feb. 1,1873
199 Knowles, A., Swinton Old Hall, Manchester............Dec. 5,1856
200 Knowles, John, Westwood, Pendlebury, Manchester ......Dec. 5, 1856
201 Lamb, R., Bowthorn Colliery, Cleator Moor, near Whitehaven ... Sept. 2,

1865
202 Lamb, R. O., The Lawn, Ryton-on-Tyne ............Aug. 2,1866
203 Lamb, Richard W., 29, Great Cumberland Place, London, W. ... Nov. 2, 1872
204 Lancaster, John, Anfield House, Leamington .........Mar. 2, 1865
205 Landale, A., Comely Park Place, Dunfermline .........Dec. 2, 1858
206*Laporte, Henry, M.E., Acieries de France, Aubin, Aveyron, France May 5, 1877
207 Layerick, Robt., West Rainton, Fence Houses .........Sept. 2, 1876
208 Lawrence, Henry, Grange Iron Works, Durham (Mem. of Council) Aug. 1, 1868
209 Laws, H., Grainger Street W., Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Feb. 6,1869
210 Lebour, G. A., M.A., F.G.S., Durham College of Science, Newcastle
(Secretary) ........................ Feb. 1,1873
211 Leyer, Ellis, Bowdon, Cheshire ............... 1861
212 Lewis, Sir William Thomas, Mardy, Aberdare ......... 1864
213 Liddeel, G. H., Somerset House, Whitehaven .........Sept. 4, 1869
214 Linsley, R., Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland ... ......July 2, 1872
215 Linsley, S. W., Whitburn Colliery, South Shields .........Sept. 4,1869
216 Lishman, T., Jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses (Mem. of Council)... Nov. 5, 1870
217 Lishman, Wm., Holly House, Witton-le-Wear............ 1857
218 Lishman, Wm., Bunker Hill, Fence Houses (Member of Council) .. Mar. 7, 1861
219 Livesey, C, Bradford Colliery, near Manchester .........Aug. 3, 1865
220 Livesey, T., Bradford Colliery, near Manchester .........Nov. 7,1874
221 Llewelyn, L., Abersychan House, Abersychan ... ... ... May

4,1872
222 Logan, William, Langley Park Colliery, Durham .........Sept. 7, 1867
223 Longbotham, J., Barrow Collieries, Barnsley, Yorkshire ......May 2, 1868
224 Lupton, A., F.G.S., 6, De Grey Road, Leeds ............Nov. 6,1869
225 Maling, C. T., Ellison Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne .'........Oct. 5,1872
226 Mammatt, J. E., C.E., St. Andrew's Chambers, Leeds ......

1864
227 Mareey, John, Thornfield, Darlington (President) ......Aug. 21, 1852
228 Maeley, J. W., Marley, Pinching, & Marley, 41, Threadneedle Street,
London ........................Aug. 1, 1868
229 Marshall, F. C, Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, St. Peter's, Newcastle Aug. 2, 1866
230 Marston, W. B., Leeswood Vale Oil Works, Mold .........Oct. 3, 1868
231 Marten, E. B., C.E., Pedmore, near Stourbridge .........July 2,1872
232 Matthews, R. F., Marske Hall, Richmond, Yorkshire ......Mar. 5, 1857
233 Maughan, J. A., Manager of the Government Central Provinces'
Collieries, Umaria, via Katni, India, C.P.............Nov. 7, 1863
234 May, Geo., Harton Colliery Offices, near South Shields {Member of
Council) .................. ......Mar. 6,1862
235 McCreath, J., 95, Bath Street, Glasgow ............Mar. 5,1870
236 McCulloch, Dayid, Beech Grove, Kilmarnock, N.B. ......Dec. 4,1875
(xxiv)
ELECTED.
237 McMurtrie, J., Radstock Colliery, Bath ............Nov. 7,1863
238 Merivale, Prof. J. H., M.A., 2, Victoria Villas, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) ... ... ... ... ... ...

May 5,1877
239 Miller, Robert, Silkstone and Worsbro' Park Collieries, Locke Park,
near Barnsley .....................Mar. 2,1865
240 Mills, M. H., Kirklye Hall, Alfreton...............Feb. 4,1871
241 Mitchell, Chas., Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........April 11,1874
242 Mitchell, Joseph, Mining Offices, Eldon Street, Barnsley......Feb. 14,1874
243 Mitchinson, R., Jan., Pontop Coll., Lintz Green Station, Co. Durham Feb. 4, 1865
244 Monkhouse, Jos., Gilcrux, Cockermouth ............June 4, 1863
245 Moor, T., Cambois Colliery, Blyth ...............Oct, 3,1868
246 Moor, Wm., Jun., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses .........July 2,1872
247 Moore. R. W., Somerset House, Whitehaven............Nov. 5, 1870
248 Morris, W., Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street .........

1858
249*Morton, H. J., 2, Westbourne Villas, South Cliff, Scarborough ... Dec. 5,

1856
250 Morton, H. T., Lambton, Fence Houses ............Aug. 21, 1852
251 Mundle, Arthur, St. Nicholas' Chambers, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... June 5, 1875
252 Mundle, W., Redesdale Mines, Bellingham ............Aug. 2, 1873
253*Nasse, Rudolph, Oberbergrath, Saarbriicken, Prussia ......

1869
254 Nevin, John, Dunbottle House, Mir field, Normantou ......May 2,1868
255 Newall, R. S., D.C.L., F.G.S., Ferndene, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... May 2,

1863
256 Nicholson, E., Jun., Beamish Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......Aug. 7,1869
257 Nicholson, Marshall, Middleton Hall, Leeds .........Nov. 7,1863
258 Noble, Captain, C.B., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., F.C.S., Jesmond, New-
castle-on-Tyne .....................Feb. 3,1866
259 North, F. W., F.G.S., Rowley Hall Colliery, Dudley, Staffordshire ... Oct. 6,

1864
260 Ogden, John M., Solicitor, Sunniside, Sunderland .........Mar. 5,1857
261 Ogilvie, A. Graeme, 8, Grove End Road, St. John's Wood, London Mar. 3, 1877
262 Oliver, Robert, Charlaw Colliery, near Durham ........Nov. 6,1875
263 Palmer, A. S., Usworth Hall, Washington Station, Co. Durham ... July 2,1872
264 Palmer, Sir Charles Mark, Bart., M.P., Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne Nov. 5, 1852
265 Pamely, C, Springfield, Berw Road, Pontypridd, South Wales ... Sept. 5,

1868
266 Pan ton, F. S., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland .........Oct, 5, 1867
267 Parrington, M. W., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland ......Dec. 1, 1864
268 Parton, T., F.G.S., Hill Top, West Bromwich............Oct. 2,1869
269 Peace, M. W., Wigan, Lancashire ...............July 2, 1872
270 Pearoe, F. H., Bowling Iron Works, Bradford ...... .. Oct. 1,

1857
271 Pease, Sir J. W., Bart., M.P., Hutton Hall, Guisbro', Yorkshire ... Mar. 5,

1857
272 Peel, John, Wharncliffe Silkstone Collieries, near Barnsley ... Nov.

1,1860
273 Peel, John, Leasingthorne Colliery, Bishop Auckland ......Mar. 3, 1877
274 Peile, William, Cartgate,. Hensingham, Whitehaven .......Oct. 1,1863
275 Pickup, P. W., 71, Preston New Boad, Blackburn .........Feb. 6, 1875
276 Potter, Addison, C.B., Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 6, 1869
277 Potter, A. M., Shire Moor Colliery, Earsdon, Newcastle ... Feb.

3,1872
(XXV)
-^ ELECTED.
278 Potter, C. J., Heaton Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......... Oct. 3, 1874
279 Price, John, 6, Osborne Villas, Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Mar. 3,

1877
280 Price, J. R., Standish, near Wigan ............... Aug. 7, 1869
281 Priestman, Jonathan, Coal Owner, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...... Sept. 2,1871
282 Pringle, Edward, Choppington Colliery. Northumberland ... ... Aug. 4,

1877
283 Ramsay, J. A., Sherbnrn and Littletown Collieries, near Durham ... Mar. 6, 1869
284 Ramsay, Wm., Tursdale Colliery, County Durham .........Sept. 11, 1875
285 Reed, Robert, Felling Colliery, Gateshead ............Dec. 3,1863
286 Rees, Daniel, Glandare, Aberdare ............... 1862
287 Reid, Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...............April 2,1870
288 Richardson, H., Backworth Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne......Mar. 2,1865
289 Richardson, J. W., Iron Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 3,1870
290 Ridley, G., Tyne Chambers, 38, Side, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Feb. 4,1865
291 Ridley, J. H., Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... April 6,1872
292 Ridyard, J., Bridgewater Offices, Walkden, nr. Bolton-le-Moors, Lan. Nov. 7, 1874
293 Ritson, U. A., 6, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ......Oct. 7,1871
294 Ritson, W. A., Agnes Road, Northampton ............April 2, 1870
295 Robertson, W., M.E., 123, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow ......Mar. 5,1870
296 Robinson, G. C, Brereton and Hayes Colls., Rugeley, Staffordshire... Nov. 5, 1870
297 Robinson, R., Howlish Hall, near Bishop Auckland (Mem. of Council) Feb. 1, 1868
298 Bobson, J. S., Butterknowle Colliery, via Darlington......... 1853
299 Robson, Thomas, Lumley Colliery, Fence Houses ...... ... Oct. 4, 1860
300 Rogerson, John, Croxdale Hall, Durham ............Mar. 6,1869
301 Roscamp, J., Shilbottle Colliery, Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland... Feb. 2,

1867
302 Ross, J. A. G., Consulting Engineer, 13, Belgrave Terrace, Newcastle July 2, 1872
303 Rosser, W., Mineral Surveyor, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire ......

1856
304 Rothwell, R. P., 27, Park Place, New York, U.S..........Mar. 5,1870
305 Routledge, Jos., Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland .........Sept. 11, 1875
306 Routledge, Wm., S. and L.C. and R. Co., Reserve Colliery, Sydney,
Cape Breton.........................Aug. 6,1857
307 Rutherford, J., Halifax Coal Co., Ld., Albion Mines, Nova Scotia...

1852
308 Rutherford, W., So. Derwent Colliery, Anntield Plain, Lintz Green Oct. 3, 1874
309 Ryder, W. J. H., Forth Street Brass Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Nov. 4, 1876
310 Saint, George, Vauxhall Collieries, Ruabon, North Wales......April 11, 1874
311 Scarth, W. T., Raby Castle, Staindrop, Darlington.........April 4,1868
312 Scott, Andrew, Broomhill Colliery, Acklington .........Dec. 7, 1867
313 Scott, C. F., Medomsley, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne .....April 11, 1874
314 Scoular, G., Cleator Moor, via Carnforth ............July 2,1872
315 Shaw, W., Cast Steel Foundry Co., Ld., Middlesbro'.........June 3,1871
316 Shiel, John, Framwellgate Colliery, County Durham ......May 6,1871
317 Shone, Isaac, Great George Street Chambers, Parliament Square,
London, S.W......................... 1858
318 Shuts, C. A., Westoe, South Shields ...............April 11, 1874
319 Simpson, J., Heworth Colliery, near Gateshead-on-Tyne ......Dec. 6,1866
320 Simpson, J. B., F.G.S., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne (Member
of Council) ........................Oct. 4,186
d
ELECTED•
321 Simpson, E., Moor House, Ryton-on-Tyne ............Aug. 21, 1852
322 Simpson, Robt., Drummond Coll., Westville, Picfcou, Nova Scotia ... Dec. 4, 1875
323 Slinn, T., 2, Choppington Street, Westmorland Road, Newcastle ... July 2, 1872
324 Smith, G. F., Grovehurst, Tunbridge Wells ............Aug. 5, 1853
325*Smith, R. Clifford, F.G.S., Ashford Hall, Bakewell ......Dec. 5,1874
326 Smith, T. E., Phoenix Foundry, Newgate Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Dec. 5, 1874
327 Sopwith, A., Cannock Chase Collieries, near Walsall... ... ... Aug.

1, 1868
328 Sopwith, Thos., 6, Great George St., Westminster, London, S.W. ... Mar. 3, 1877
329 Southern, R., Burleigh House, The Parade, Tredegarville, Cardiff... Aug. 3, 1865
330 South worth, Thos., Hindley Green Collieries, near Wigan... ... May

2,1874
331 Spencer, John, Westgate Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ......Sept. 4, 1869
332 Spencer, M., Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Sept. 4,1869
333 Spencer, T., Ryton, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Dec. 6 1866
334 Spencer, W., Southfields, Leicester ... ... ... ...

,, Aug. 21,1852
335 Steavenson, A. L., Durham (Vice-President) .........Dec. 6,1855
336 Stephenson, G. R., 9 Victoria Chambers, Westminster, London, S.W. Oct. 4, 1860
337 Stobart, W., Pepper Arden, Northallerton ............July 2, 1874
338 Storey, Thos. E., Clough Hall Iron Works, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire Feb. 5, 1872
339 Straker, J. H., Stagshaw House, Corbridge-on-Tyne ......Oct. 3,1876
340 Stratton, T. H. M., Cramlington House, Northumberland (Mem. of
Council) ........................Dec. 3,1870
341 Swallow, J., Bushblades House, Lintz Green, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... May 2, 1874
342 Swallow, R. T., Springwell, Gateshead-on-Tyne ......... 1862
343 Swan, H. F., Shipbuilder, Newcastle-on-Tyne............Sept. 2, 1871
344 Swan, J. G., Upsall Hall, near Middlesbro' ............Sept. 2,1871
345 Swann, C. G., Sec, General Mining Asso. Ld., Blomfield House, Lon-
don Wall, and New Broad Street., London, E.C..........Aug. 7, 1875
346 Tate, Simon, Trimdon Grange Colliery, Co. Durham ......Sept. 11, 1875
347 Taylor, Hugh, King Street, Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Sept. 5,1856
348 Taylor, T., Quay, Newcastle-on-Tyne...............July 2,1872
349 Taylor-Smith, Thomas, Greencroft Park, Durham.........Aug. 2,1866
350 Thompson, R., Jun., 19, The Crescent, Gateshead .........Sept. 7,1867
351 Thomson, John, Eston Mines, by Middlesbro'............April 7,1877
352 Thomson, Jos. F., Manvers Main Colliery, Rotherham ......Feb. 6, 1875
353 Tinn, J., C.E., Ashton Iron Rolling Mills, Bedminster, Bristol ... Sept.

7,1867
354 Tyzace, D., c/o Mr. Donnison, 71, Westgate Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne Feb. 14, 1874
355 Tyzack, Wilfred, So. Medomsley Colliery, Lintz Green, Newcastle... Oct. 7,1876
356 Vivian, John, Diamond Boring Company, Whitehaven ......Mar. 3, 1877
357 Wadham, E., C. and M.E., Millwood, Dalton-in-Furness ......Dec. 7,1867
358 Walker, J. S., Pagefield Iron Works, Wigan, Lancashire ......Dec. 4, 1869
359 Walker, W., Hawthorns, Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........Mar. 5,1870
360 Wallace, Henry, Trench Hall, Gateshead ............Nov. 2,1872
361 Ward, H., Rodbaston Hall, near Penkridge, Stafford.........Mar. 6,1862
362 Wardell, S. C, Doe Hill House, Alfreton ............April 1, 1865
ELECTED
363 Watson, M., Curzon'Street, Maryport...............Mar. 7,1868
364 Weeks, J. G., Bedlington, R.S.O., Northumberland (Mem. of Council) Feb. 4, 1865
365 Westmacott, P. G. B., Elswick Iron Works, Newcastle ......June 2, 1866
366 White, H, Walker Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.......... 1866
367 White, J. F., M.E., Wakefield..................July 2,1872
368 White, J. W. H., Woodlesford, near Leeds ............Sept. 2,1876
369 Whitehead, James, Brindle Lodge, near Preston, Lancashire ... Dec. 4,1875
370 Whitelaw, John, 118, George Street, Edinburgh .........Feb. 5,1870
371 Whittem, Thos. S., Wyken Colliery, near Coventry.........Dec. 5,1874
372 Widdas, C, North Bitchburn Colliery, Howden, Darlington......Dec. 5,1868
373 Wight, W. H., Cowpen Colliery, Blyth......... ......Feb. 3,1877
374 Wild, J. G., Hedley Hope Collieries, Tow Law, R.S.O., Durham ... Oct. 5, 1867
375 Williamson, John, Cannock, &c, Collieries, Hednesford ......Nov. 2, 1872
376 Willis, J., 14, Portland Terrace, Newcastle (Vice-President) ... Mar. 5,1857
377 Wilson, J. B., Wingfield Iron Works and Colliery, Alfreton......Nov. 5,1852
378 Wilson, Robert, Fliinby Colliery, Maryport............Aug. 1,1874
379 Wilson, W. B., Thornley Colliery, by Trimdon Grange, Co. Durham Feb. 6, 1869
380 Winter, T. B., Grey Street, Newcastle-oii-Tyne .........Oct. 7,1871
381 Wood, C. L., Freeland, Forgandenny, Perthshire ......... 1853
382 Wood, Lindsay, The Hermitage, Chester-le-Street (Past-President,
Member of Council).....................Oct. 1, 1857
383 Wood, Thomas, Rainton House, Fence Houses ..........Sept. 3, 1870
384 Wood, W. H, Coxhoe Hall, Coxhoe, Co. Durham (Member of Council) 1856
385 Wood, W. O., South Hetton, Sunderland (Member of Council) ... Nov. 7, 1863
386 Woolcock, Henry, St. Bees, Cumberland ............Mar. 3,1873
387 Wrightson, T., Stockton-on-Tees ...............Sept. 13, 1873
Marked * are Life Members.
1 4ckroyd, Wm., Morley Main Collieries, Morley, near Leeds......Feb. 7, 1880
2 Barrett, C. R., New Seaham, Sunderland ............Nov. 7, 1874
3 Bell, C. E., Park House, Durham ...............Dec. 3, 1870
4 Binns, G. J., F.G.S., M.G.S.A., and Lecturer on Geology at the Otago
University, Government Inspector of Mines, Dunedin, New
Zealand ........................Aug. 7,1886
5 Blackburn, Wm. Stevenson, Astley House, Woodlesford, nr. Leeds Dec. 10, 1887
6 Broja, Richard, Koeniglicher Oberbergrath, 35, Friedrich Strasse,
Halle, a/S.........................Nov. 6,1880
7 Bfnning, C. Z., F.G.S., Warora Colliery, Central Provinces, India ... Dec. 6, 1873
8 Charlton, Henry, Hawks, Crawshay & Sons, Gateshead-on-Tyne Dec. 9, 1882
9 Crighton, John, 2, Clarence Buildings, Booth Street, Manchester.. Oct. 8, 1887 10

Cross, W. Assheton, Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, Newcastle-on-Tyne April 12,1884
ELECTED.
11 Dacres, Thomas, Dearhaui Colliery, via Carlisle .........May 4,1878
12 DA VIES, John, Hartley House, Coundon, Bishop Auckland......April 10, 1886
13 Dees, J. Gibson, Floraville, Whitehaven ............Oct. 13, 1883
14*Dixon, James S., 97, Bath Street, Glasgow ............Aug. 3,1878
15 Ellis, W. R., F.G.S., Wigan ..................June 1,1878
16 POEBBST, B. J., c/o G. Scoville, Calle Piedad 481, Buenos Ayres,
Argentine Republic.....................April 12,1884
17 Poeeest, J. C, Witley Coal Co., Limited, Halesowen, Birmingham... April 12,1884
18 Galloway, Wm., Mining Engineer, Cardiff ............April 23,1887
19 Geddes, George H., 142 Princes Street, Edinburgh.........Oct. 1, 1881
20 Goudie, J. H., Ironwood, by Watersmeet, Michigan, U.S.A. ••• Sept. 7,

1878
21 Johnson, H., Jun., Mining Offices, Trindle Road, Dudley, So. Staff. Feb. 10, 1883
22 Johnson, William, Radcliffe Colliery, Acklington, Northumberland Dec. 9, 1882
23 Kellett, William, Wigan ..................June 1,1878
24 Knowles, 1., Wigan ........ ............Oct. 13,1883
25*Knowles, Robert, Arncliffe, Cheetham Hill, Manchester ......April 10,1886
26 Lancaster John, Auchinheath, Southfield and Fence Collieries,
Lesmahagow........................Sept. 7, 1878
27 Laws, W. G Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne............Oct. 2,1880
28 Leach, C. C., Seghill Colliery, Northumberland .........Mar. 7,1874
29 Llewellin, David Morgan, F.G.S., Glanwern Offices, Pontypool ... May 14, 1881
30 Martin, Tom Pattinson, Allhallows Colliery, Mealsgate, Carlisle ... Feb. 15, 1879
31 Potts, Jos., Jun., North Cliff, Roker, Sunderland ...... ...Dec. 6,1879
32*Prior, Edward G., Victoria, British Columbia............Feb. 7, 1880
33 Rhodes, C. E., Carr House, Rotherham ............Aug. 4, 1883
34 Russell, Robert, Coltness Iron Works, Newmaius, N.B.......Aug. 3,1878
35 Selby, Atherton, Leigh, near Manchester ............Oct. 13, 1883
36 Spencer, John W., Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ......May 4,1878
37 Stevens, James, M.E., Kaiping Mines, c/o H.B.M.'s Consulate,
Tientsin, North China ..................Feb. 14, 1885
38 Topping, Walter, Messrs. Cross, Tetley, & Co., Bamfurlong, nr. Wigan Mar. 2, 1878
39 Vasty, Thomas, Skelton Park Mines, Skelton, R.S.O., Cleveland ... Feb. 12, 1887
40 Walker, Sydney Ferris, 196, Severn Road, Canton, Cardiff ... Dec. 9, 1882
41 Walker, William Edward, Lowther Street, Whitehaven......Nov. 19, 1881
42 Winstanley Robt., M.E., 28, Deansgate, Manchester ......Sept. 7,1878
donate JJembm.
Marked * are Life Members.
ELECTE1I
1 Agniel, S., Mines de Vicoigne (Nbrd), Nceux (P. de C), France ... April23, 1887
2 Allan, John P., La Carolina, Provincia de St. Luis, Argentine
Republic ........................ Feb. 10, 1883
3 Allison, J. J. C, Hedley Hill Colliery, Waterhouses, Durham ... Feb. 13, 1886
4 Anderson, R. S., Elswick Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...... June 9,1883
5 Armstrong, Henry, Pelaw House, Chester-le-Street ...... April 14, 1883
6 Armstrong, J. H., St. Nicholas' Chambers, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Aug. 1, 1885
7 Armstrong, T. J., Hawthorn Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne ...... Feb. 10, 1883
8 Arnold, Thos., Mineral Surveyor, Castle Hill, Greenfields, Llauelly Oct. 2, 1880
9 Atkinson, A. A., New Brancepeth Colliery, near Durham ...... Aug. 3, 1878
10 Atkinson, Fred., Maryport ..................Feb. 14, 1874
11 Audus, T., Mineral Traffic Manager, N.E. Railway, Newcastle-on-Tyne Aug. 7, 1880
12 Ayton, Henry, Cowpen Colliery, Blyth, Northumberland ......Mar. 6, 1875
13 Bailes, E. T., Wingate, Ferryhill ...............June 7,1879
14 Ball, Alfred P., 14, Landsdowne Terrace, Gosforth ......Dec. 11, 1886
15 Bell, Geo. Fred., 2, Belmont Crescent, Hillhead, Glasgow......Sept. 6, 1879
16*Bell, Thomas Hugh, Middlesbro'-on-Tees ... .........Dec. 11, 1882
17 Bennett, Alfred H., Dean Lane Collieries, Bedminster, Bristol ... April 10,1886
18 Berkley, Frederick, Murton Colliery, near Sunderland ......Dec. 11,1882
19 Berkley, R. W., Marley Hill, Whickham, R.S.O., Co. Durham ... Feb. 14, 1874
20 Bewick, T. B., Hebburn, Newcastle-on-Tyne....., ......Mar. 7,1874
21 Bird, W. J., Wingate, Co. Durham ...............Nov. 6,1875
22 Blackett, W. C, Jun., Kimblesworth Colliery, Chester-le-Street ... Nov. 4,1876
23 Boucher, A. S., La Salada puerto Bertio, E de Antioguia, United
States of Colombia, S.A...................Aug. 4,1883
24 Bramwell, Hugh, Mining Offices, Marsden, South Shields......Oct. 4, 1879
25 Brough, Bennett H., F.G.S., 5, Robert Street, Adelphi, London, W.C. Dec. 10, 1887
26 Brough, Thomas, Seaham Colliery, Sunderland ... ......Feb. 1, 1873
27 Brown, C. Gilpin, Hetton Colliery, Pence Houses ...... ...Nov. 4,1876
28 Brown, M. Walton, 3, Summerhill Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne
(Member of Council) ..................Oct. 7,1871
29 Brown, Robert M., Norwood Colliery, via Darlington ......April 10,1886
30 Bruce, John, Port Mulgrave, Hinderwell, R.S.O., Yorkshire ... Feb. 14, 1874
31 Bulman, H. F., Broomside Colliery, near Durham ... ... ... May

2,1874
32 Burdon, A. E., Hartford House, Cramlington, Northumberland ... Feb. 10,1883
33 Cabrera, Fidel, c/o H. Kendall & Son, 12, Great Winchester Street,
London...........................Oct. 6,1877
34*Candler, T. E., F.G.S., Hong Kong Club, Hong Kong, China ... May 1, 1875
35 Charlton, W. A. (of Tangyes Ltd.), 8, Richmond Terrace, Gateshead Nov. 6, 1880
36 Childe, Henry S., Mining Engineer, Wakefield ...... ... Feb. 12,1887
ELECTED.
37 Clough, Jambs, Willow Bridge, Choppington, Morpeth ......April 5, 1873
38 Cochrane, Ralph D., Hetton Colliery Offices, Pence Houses ... June 1, 1878
39 Cockbuen, W. C, 1, St. Nicholas' Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct, 8, 1887
40 Cockson, Charles, luce Coal and Cannel Co., Ince, Wigan......April 22, 1882
41 Cooper, E. W., Solicitor, Newcastle-on-Tyne............Sept. 4,1880
42 Crawford, T. W., 32, Poultry, London, E.C.............Dec. 4,1875
43 Crone, 1^ E., Killingworth, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Sept, 2,1876
44 Curry, W. Thos., Chelvey, Backwell, Somerset .........Sept. 4,1880
45 Bakers, W. R., Croxdale Colliery, Durham ............Oct. 14, 1882
46 Denniston, Robert B., Stuart Street, Dunedin, New Zealand ... Dec. 11, 1886
47 Dobinson, Lancelot, Durham Place House, Murton Colliery,
Sunderland ..................... ... Feb. 11, 1888
48 Dodo, M., Leuiington, Scotswood-on-Tyne ... ... ... ...

Dec. 4, 1875
49 Donkin, Wm., Warora Colliery, Wardha Coal State Eailway, C.P.. India Sept. 2,1876
50 Douglas, A. S., Stanley Villa, near Crook, via Darlington ... ... June 1,

1878
51 Douglas, John, Seghill Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland......April 22, 1882
52 Douglas, John, Jun., Seghill Colliery, Dudley, Northumberland ... April 22, 1882
53 Douglas, M. H., Marsden Colliery, South Shields .........Aug. 2,1879
54 Doyle, Patrick, C.E., P.M.S., F.L.S., M.R.A.S., F.G.S., M.S.L,
Bengal E.I.E., Chord Line, Sitarampur, India ...... ... Mar. 1,1879
55 Du Pre, P. B., 13, Old El vet, Durham...............Oct. 9,1886
56 Dunn, A. P., Poynton, Stockport, Cheshire ............June 2, 1877
57 Durnford, H. St. John, Swaithe Colliery, near Barnsley ... ... June 2,1877
58 Edge, John H., Coalport Wire Rope and Chain Works, Shif nal, Salop Sept. 7, 1878
59 Edwards, P. H., Forth House, Bewick Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ... June 11, 1887
60 Pairley, James, Craghead and Holmside Collieries, Chester-le-Street Aug. 7, 1880
61 Farrow, Joseph, Brotton Mines, Brotton, E.S.O..........Feb. 11, 1882
62 Ferens, Frederick J., Silksworth Colliery, Sunderland ......Dec. 4,1880
63 Ferguson, D., Cadzow Colliery, Hamilton, N.B..........Dec. 8,1883
64 Fisher, Edward R., Nant Glas, Cross Hands, near Llanelly, So. Wales Aug. 2, 1884
65 Fletcher, Lancelot, Marsden Colliery, South Shields ... ... Aprill4,1888
66 Fletcher, W., Brigham Hill, via Carlisle ............Oct. 13, 1883
67 Forster, Thomas E., Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland ......Oct. 7,1876
68 Fryar, Mark, Denby Colliery, Derby...............Oct. 7,1876
69 Gerrard, James, 19, King Street, Wigan ............Mar. 3, 1873
70 Gilchrist, J. R., Durham Main Colliery, Durham ... ... ... Feb. 3,

1877
71 Greener, Henry, South Pontop Colliery, Annfield Plain ... ... Dec. 11,1882
72 Greener, T. Y., Hucknall Torkard Collieries, near Nottingham ... July 2,1872
73 Gresley, W. S., P.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Overseile, Ashby-de-la-Zouch Oct. 5, 1878
74 Haddock, W. T., Jun., Eyhope Colliery, Sunderland.........Oct. 7, 1876
75 Haggie, Peter Sinclair, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ... ... April 14,

1883
76 Hallas, G. H., Wigan and Whiston Coal Co., Limited, Prescot ... Oct. 7, 1876
ELECTED.
77 Halse, Edward, 15, Clarendon Road, Notting Hill, London, W. ... June 13, 1885
78 Hamilton, E., Rig Wood, Saltburn-by-the-Sea .........Nov. 1, 1873
79 Harrts, W. S., Kibblesworth, Gateshead-on-Tyne .........Feb. 14, 1874
80 Hedley, E., Rainham Lodge. The Avenue, Beckenham, Kent ... Dec. 2, 1871
81 Hedley, Sept. H., Bank Chambers, Wakefield .........Feb. 15, 1879
82 Hedley, T. F. Jun., Valuer, Sunderland ............April 23, 1887
83 Henderson, C. W. O, The Riding, Hexham............Dec. 11, 1882
84 Hendy, J. C. B., Stanton Iron Co.'s Collieries, Pleasley, near Mans-
field, Notts ........................Sept. 2,1876
85 Heslop, Septimus, Belrooi Colliery, Sitarampur, E.I.R., Bengal, India Dec. 4,1880
86 Heslop, Thomas, Storey Lodge Colliery, Cockfield, via Darlington ... Oct, 2, 1880
87 Hill, William, Carterthorne Colliery Offices, Witton-le-Wear ... June 9,1883
88 Holme, James, Engineer's Department, Canadian Pacific Railway.
Winnipeg, Canada ...... ...............June 12, 1886
89 Hooper, Fred. G., South Derwent Coll., Annfield Plain, Lintz Green Feb. 14, 1885
90 Humble, Joicey........................Mar. 3,1877
91 Humble, Robert............... .........Sept. 2,1876
92 Humble, Stephen, 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria St., London, S.W. Oct. 6, 1877
93 Iryine, Joseph R., Hendon Ropery, Sunderland .........Dec. 10, 1887
94 Jepson, H., 10, Crossgate, Durham ............ ... July 2, 1872
95*Jobling, Thos. E., Croft Villa, Blyth, Northumberland ......Oct. 7, 1876
96 Johnson, F. D., Aykleyheads, Durham...............Feb. 10,1883
97 Johnson, W., Abram Colliery, Wigan...............Feb. 14, 1874
98 Kirkup, Philip, Cornsay Colliery Office, Esh, near Durham ... Mar. 2, 1878
99 Kirton, Hugh, Waldridge Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......April 7,1877
100 Layerick, John Wales, Tow Law Colliery Office, Tow Law, R.S.O.,
Co. Durham........................Dec. 11,1882
101 Lee, John F„ Castle Eden Colliery, County Durham.........June 13, 1885
102 Lee, William, Felling Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Dec. 10,1887
103 Liddell, J. M,, 3, Victoria Villas, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Mar. 6,1875
104 Lisle, J., Washington Colliery, County Durham ... ... ... July

2,1872
105 Liveing, E. H, 52, Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square, London, W. Sept. 1, 1877
106 MacCabe, H. O., Russell Vale, Wollongong, New South Wales ... Sept. 7, 1878
107 Mackinlay, T. B., West Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street......Nov. 1,1879
108 Maddison, Thos. R., The Knowle, Mirfield ............Mar. 3, 1877
109 Makepeace, H. R., Cwmaman Colliery, Aberdare .........Mar. 3,1877
110 Markham, G. E., Howlish Offices, Bishop Auckland.........Dec. 4, 1875
111 Matthews, J., Messrs. R. & W. Hawthorn, Newcastle-on-Tyne .. April 11, 1885
112 McCarthy, Edward T., A.R.S.M., c/o Col. Pigott, Higbury,
Eastbourne..................... ... Oct. 8,1887
113 McLaren, B.,Heddon Coal and Fire Brick Co., Wylam-on-Tyne ... Dec. 10, 1883

114*Merivale, W., District Engineer's Office, Indian Midland Railway,
Sangur, India........................Mar. 5,1881
ELECTED.
115 Miller, D. S., Cheadle, Staffordshire...............Nov. 7,1874
116*Miller, N., 31, Hyde Lane, Hyde, near Manchester.........Oct. 5, 1878
117 Moobe, William, Loftus Mines, Loftus in Cleveland, R.S.O. ... Nov. 19, 1881
118 Moeeing, C. A., Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Hill, London, E.C. Nov. 7, 1874
119 Mobison, John, Newbattle Collieries, Dalkeith, N.B. ......Dec. 4, 1880
120 Mulholland, M. L., 74, Weardale Street, Mount Pleasant, Spenny-
moor, County Durham ... ... ... ... ... ...

Dec. 11,1886
121 Mubton, Chaeles J., Delaval Benwell Colliery, Ncwcastle-on-Tyne Mar. 6, 1880
122 Musgeave, Henry, Havercroft Main Colliery, Wakefield ......Juno 12, 1886
123 Nichol, WM., Boldon Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 9, 1886
124 Ornsby, R. E., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Northumberland ......Mar. 6,1875
125 Palmer, Henry, East Howie Colliery, near Ferry hill ... ... Nov.

2,1878
126 Parsons, Hon. Charles Algernon, Elvaston Hall, Ryton-on-Tyne June 12, 1886
127 Peake, C. E., Eskell Chambers, Nottingham............Nov. 3,1877
128 Peake, R. C, Stoke Lodge, Bletchley, Bucks.............Feb. 7,1880
129*Pease, Arthur, Darlington ..................Dec. 11,1882
130 Prest, J. J., Kimblesworth Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......May 1,1875
131 Prest, T., Bedlington Colliery, R.S.O., Northumberland .....June 14,1884
132 Price, S. R., Cottam Colliery, Barlbro, near Chesterfield ......Nov. 3, 1877
133 Proctor, C. P., Shibden Hall Collieries, near Halifax, Yorkshire ... Oct. 7,

1876
134 Proud, Joseph, South Hetton Colliery Offices, Sunderland ... ... Oct. 14,

1882
135 Rathbone, Edgar P., 2, Great George Street, Westminster, London Mar. 7, 1878
136 Rich, William, Minas de Rio Tinto, Provincia de Huelva, Spain ... June 9, 1888
137 Ridley, Sir Matthew White, Bart., M.P., Blagdon, Northumberland Feb. 10,1883
138 Robinson, Frank, The Nunnery, Orrell Mount, Wigan ......Sept. 2,1876
139 Robson, T. O., Bensham Crescent, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... ... Sept. 11,

1875
140 Routledge, W. H., The Rhyd, Tredegar, Mon., Wales ......Oct. 7, 1876
141*Saise, Walter, D.Sc. (Lond.), F.G.S., M.Inst.C.E., Manager E.I.R.
Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India ...............Nov. 3, 1877
142 Sawyer, A. R., Ass. R.S.M., Newcastle, Staffordshire ......Dec. 6, 1873
143 Scureield, Geo. J., Hurworth-upon-Tees, Dai-lington ......Dec. 11,1882
144 Shipley, T., Woodland Colliery Office, Woodland, Butterknowle,
R.S.O., Co. Durham.....................Aug. 2,1884
145 Simpson, F. L. G., Mohpani Coal Mines, Gadawarra, C.P., India ... Dec. 13, 1884
146 Smith, Eustace, Wire Rope Manufacturer and Shipbuilder, Newcastle June 11, 1887
147 Snowball, Joseph, Seaton Burn House, Dudley, Northumberland ... Feb. 10, 1883
148 Southern, E. O., Ashington Colliery, near Morpeth.........Dec. 5,1874
149 Spence, R. F., Cramlington, R.S.O., Northumberland ......Nov. 2,1878
150 Stobaet, F., Pensher House, Fence Houses ............Aug. 2, 1873
151 Stobart, H. T., Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland .........Oct. 2,1880
152 StobbS, Frank, 1, Queen Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.........Oct. 1,1881
153 Stoker, Arthur P., Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.........Oct, 6,1877
ELECTED.
154 Telford, W. H., Hartford Coll., Cramlington, R.S.O., Northumberland Oct. 3, 1874
155 Thompson, Charles Lacy, Milton Hall, Carlisle .........Feb. 10, 1883
156 Todd, John T., Hamsteels, near Durham ............Nov. 4,1876
157*Tyers, John E., Mohpani Coal Mines, Gadawarra, C.P., India ... Dec. 10, 1887
158 Vitanoep, Geo. N., Sophia, Bulgaria...............April 22,1882
159 Wain, Wm. Holt, Podmore Hall Collieries, Newcastle-under-Lyne... Feb. 12, 1887
160 Wallau, Jacob, Messrs. Black, Hawthorn & Co., Gateshead ... Dec. 10, 1887
161 Walters, Haegeave, Birley Collieries, near Sheffield ......June 4, 1881
162 Walton, J. Coulthard, Writhlington Collieries, Radstock, via Bath Nov. 7, 1874 163*

Ward, T. H., F.G.S., Assistant Manager, E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi,
Bengal, India.................. ......Aug. 7, 1882
164 Wardle, Edward, Craghead Colliery, Chester-le-Street ......Feb. 5,1881
165 Watkyn-Thomas, W., M.E., Mineral Office, Cockermouth Castle ... Feb. 10,1883
166 Wears, W. G, M.E., 28 and 29, St. Swithin's Lane, London, E.C. ... June 9, 1888
167 Webster, H. Ingham, Morton House, Fence Houses ......April 14, 1883
168 Weeks, R. L., Willington, Co. Durham ............June 10, 1882
169 White, C. E., Hebburn Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Nov. 4,1876
170 Wight, Edwd. S., c/o R. M. Wight, Askam-in-Furness, Lancashire Dec. 12, 1885
171 Wilson, J. D., Ouston House, Chester-le-Street .........Sept. 11, 1873
172 Wilson, John R., Swaithe, near Barnsley ...... ,.....June 9,1883
173 Wormald, C. F., Mayfield Villa, Saltwell, Gateshead-on-Tyne ... Dec. 8, 1885
174 Young, John A., 7, Tyne Vale Terrace, Gateshead .........Dec. 10, 1887
1 Barrass, M., Tudhoe Colliery, Spennymoor ............Dec. 10, 1883
2 Baumgartner, W. O., Houghton-le-Spring, Fence Houses, Co. Durham Sept. 6, 1879
3 Blakeley, A. B., Soothill Wood Colliery Co., Limited, near Batley... Feb. 15, 1879
4 Brown, Westgarth F., Alston House, Cardiff .........Oct. 9, 1886
5 Chandley, Charles, Atherton Collieries, near Manchester......Nov. 6,1880
6.Cole, Collin, Broomneld, Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Oct. 18,1882
7 Crawford, James Mill, Murton Colliery, near Sunderland ... Dec. 11, 1882
8 Foester, C. W„ Lesbury, R.S.O., Northumberland .........June 10, 1882
9 Foestee, Geoege W., Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne ... Oct. 8,1887
10 Futees, Thomas 97, Stanhope Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne ......Feb. 12, 1887
11 Gallwey, A. P., Ruby and Dundei'burg Mining Co., Eureka,
Nevada, U.S.........................Oct. 2,1880
12 Geeig, J., Eston Mines, Middlesbro'-on-Tees............Feb. 5,1881
e
ELECTED.
13 Haggie, Douglas, Thorncliffe Iron Works, Sheffield.........April 14, 1883
14 Hake, Samuel, Brymbo Co., near Wrexham, North Wales......Aug. 2, 1879
15 Harrison, R. W., Leicestershire Club, Leicester .........Mar. 3,1877
16 Hay, W., Jun., Nostell Colliery, Wakefield ............Dec. 10,1883
17 Him, Leonard, Newport Wire Mills, Middlesbro' ...... ,. Oct. 6,1877
18 Hooper, Edward, c/o J. H. Hooper, College Precincts, Worcester ... June 4, 1881
19 Howard, Walter, c/o F. W. Schwager, Coronel, Chili ......April 13, 1878
20 Hurst, Geo., Seaton Delaval Colliery, Northumberland ......April 14, 1883
21 Hutt, E. H., Medomsley, near Newcastle-on-Tyne .........Aug. 4,1883
22 Kayll, A. C, Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne ............Oct. 7,1876
23 Kirkhouse, E. G., 1, Edith Street, Consett, Co. Durham ......Aug. 3, 1878
24 Lishman, R. R., Celynen Colliery, Abercarne, via Newport, Mon. ... June 9, 1883
25 McMurtrie, G.E. J., 7, Clifton Bank, Rotherham .........Aug. 2,1884
26 Mitton, A. D., Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses .........June 9,1883
27 Nicholson, A. D., Eldon Colliery, Co. Durham .........June 13, 1885
28 Nicholson, J. H., North Seaton Colliery Office, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Oct. 1, 1881
29 Oates, Robert J. W., E.I.R. Collieries, Giridi, Bengal, India ... Feb. 10,1883
30 Peart, A. W., 70, Caeharris, Dowlais, South Wales.........Nov. 4, 1876
31 Pease, J. F., Pierremont, Darlington...............June 9, 1883
32 Potter, E. A., Cramlington, Northumberland ... ......Feb. 6,1875
33 Pringle, H. A., Barrow Collieries, Barnsley, Yorkshire ......Oct. 2,1880
34 Pringle, Hy. Geo., The Southern Coal Co., Ltd., Wollongong, New
South Wales........................Dec. 4,1880
35 Redmayne, R. A. S., Hetton Collieries, near Fence Houses......Dec. 13, 1884
36 Richardson, Ralph, Field House, West Rainton, Fence Houses ... June 9, 1883
37 Ridley, Wm., So. Tanfield Coll., Stanley, R.S.O., Newcastle-on-Tyne Dec. 11, 1882
38 Scott, Joseph Samuel, East Hetton Colliery, Coxhoe, Co. Durham Nov. 19, 1881
39 Scott, Walter, Cornsay Colliery, Lanchester............Sept. 6,1879
40 Scott, Wm., Brancepeth Colliery Offices, Willington, Co. Durham ... Mar. 4, 1876
41 Shute, Wm. Ashley, Westoe, South Shields............April 11, 1885
42 Simpson, F. R., Hedgefield House, Blaydon-on-Tyne.........Aug. 4, 1883
43 Smith, Thos., Leadgate, Co. Durham...............Feb. 15, 1879
44 Smith, T. F., Jun., c/o Mr. Parry, Grocer and Draper, Littledean,
Newnham ........................May 5, 1877
45 Steayenson, C. H., Durham ..................April 14, 1883
46 Sykes, Frank K., Peases' West Collieries, Crook, by Darlington ... Feb. 13, 1886
47 Waugh, C. L., Ffalda Steam Coal Colliery, Garw Valley, near Bridgend Nov. 19, 1881
48 Yeoman, Thomas, Willington Hall, Willington, Co. Durham ... Feb. 14, 1885
1 Ashington Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
2 Birtley Iron Company, Birtley.
3 Bridgewater Trustees.
4 Haswell Colliery, Sunderland.
5 Hetton Collieries, Fence Houses.
6 Lambton Collieries, Fence Houses.
7 Londonderry Collieries, Seaham Harbour.
8 Marquess of Bute.
9 North Hetton Colliery, Fence Houses.
10 Ryhope Colliery, near Sunderland.
11 Seghill Colliery, Northumberland.
12 South Hetton and Murton Collieries.
13 Stella Colliery, Hedgefield, Blaydon-on-Tyne.
14 Throckley Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
15 Victoria Garesfield Colliery, Lintz Green.
16 Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland.
CHARTER
OF
THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
ittdftttte xrf fining nrib <j$f£c%mxml (Bagiutm.
FOUNDED 1852. INCORPORATED NOVEMBER 28th, 1876.
0MtfOTt by tne Grace of God> of tne United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen,

Defender of the Faith, to all to whom
THESE PEESENTS SHALL COME, GEEETING:
Wheeeas it has been represented to us that Nicholas Wood, of Hetton, in the County of

Durham, Esquire (since deceased); Thomas Emeeson Foestee, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Esquire

(since deceased); Sie Geoege Elliot, Baronet (then George Elliot, Esquire), of Houghton

Hall, in the said County of Durham, and Edwaed Fenwick Boyd, of Moor House, in the said

County of Durham, Esquire, and others of our loving subjects, did, in the year one thousand

eight hundred and fifty-two, form themselves into a Society, which is known by the name of

The Noeth oe England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineees, having for its objects

the Prevention of Accidents in Mines and the Advancement of the Sciences of Mining and

Engineering generally, of which Society Lindsay "Wood, of SouthilL Chester-le-Street, in

the County of Durham, Esquire, is the present President. And wheeeas it has been further

represented to us that the Society was not constituted for gain, and that neither its

projectors nor Members derive nor have derived pecuniary profit from its prosperity; that

it has during its existence of a period of nearly a quarter of a century steadily devoted

itself to the preservation of human life and the safer development of mineral property;

that it has contributed substantially and beneficially to the prosperity of the country and

the welfare and happiness of the working members of the community; that the Society has

since its establishment diligently pursued its aforesaid objects, and in so doing has made

costly experiments
and researches -with a view to the saving of life by improvements in the ventilation of

mines, by ascertaining the conditions under which the safety lamp may be relied on for

security; that the experiments conducted by the Society have related to accidents in mines

of every description, and have not been limited to those proceeding from explosions; that

the various modes of getting coal, whether by mechanical appliances or otherwise, have

received careful and continuous attention, while the improvements in the mode of working

and hauling belowground, the machinery employed for preventing the disastrous falls of roof

underground, and the prevention of spontaneous combustion in seams of coal as well as in

cargoes, and the providing additional security for the miners in ascending and descending

the pits, the improvements in the cages used for this purpose, and in the safeguards

against what is technically known as "overwinding," have been most successful in lessening

the dangers of mining, and in preserving human life ; that the Society has held meetings at

stated periods, at which the results of the said experiments and researches have been

considered and discussed, and has published a series of Transactions filling many volumes,

and forming in itself a highly valuable Library of scientific reference, by which the same

have been made known to the public, and has formed a Library of Scientific Works and

Collections of Models and Apparatus, and that distinguished persons in foreign countries

have availed themselves of the facilities afforded by the Society for communicating

important scientific and practical discoveries, and thus a useful interchange of valuable

information has been effected; that in particular, with regard to ventilation, the

experiments and researches of the Society, which have involved much pecuniary outlay and

personal labour, and the details of which are recorded in the successive volumes of the

Society's Transactions, have led to large and important advances in the practical knowledge

of that subject, and that the Society's researches have tended largely to increase the

security of life; that the Members of the Society exceed 800 in number, and include a large

proportion of the leading Mining Engineers in the United Kingdom. And wheeeas in order to

secure the property of the Society, and to extend its useful operations, and to give it a

more permanent establishment among the Scientific Institutions of our Kingdom, we have been

besought to grant to the said Lindsay Wood, and other the present Members of the Society,

and to those who shall hereafter become Members thereof, our Royal Charter of

Incorporation. Now know ye that we, being desirous of encouraging a design so laudable and

salutary of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have'willed granted, and

declared, and
do, by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, will, grant, and declare, that

the said Lindsay Wood, and such others of our loving subjects as are now Members of the

said Society, and such others as shall from time to time hereafter become Members thereof,

according to such Bye-laws as shall be made as hereinafter mentioned, and their successors,

shall for ever hereafter be, by virtue of these presents, one body, politic and corporate,

by the name of "The Noeth of England Institute op Mining and Mechanical Engineees," and by

the name aforesaid shall have perpetual succession and a Common Seal, with full power and

authority to alter, vary, break, and renew the same at their discretion, and by the saint

name to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, in every

Court of us, our heirs and successors, and be for ever able and capable in the law to

purchase, acquire, receive, possess, hold, and enjoy to them and their successors any goods

and chattels whatsoever, and also be able and capable in the law (notwithstanding the

statutes and mortmain) to purchase, acquire, possess, hold and enjoy to them and their

successors a hall or house, and any such other lands, tenements, or hereditaments

whatsoever, as they may deem requisite for the purposes of the Society, the yearly value of

which, including the site of the said hall or house, shall not exceed in the whole the sum

of three thousand pounds, computing the same respectfully at the rack rent which might have

been had or gotten for the same respectfully at the time of the purchase or acquisition

thereof. And we do heeeby geant our especial licence and authority unto all and every

person and persons and bodies politic and corporate, otherwise competent, to grant, sell,

alien, convey or devise in mortmain unto and to the use of the said Society and their

successors, any lands, tenements, or hereditaments not exceeding with the lands, tenements

or hereditaments so purchased or previously acquired such annual value as aforesaid, and

also any moneys, stocks, securities, and other personal estate to be laid out and disposed

of in the purchase of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments not exceeding the like annual

value. And we fuethee will, grant, and declare, that the said Society shall have full

power and authority, from time to time, to sell, grant, demise, exchange and dispose of

absolutely, or by way of mortgage, or otherwise, any of the lands, tenements, hereditaments

and possessions, wherein they have any estate or interest, or which they shaU acquire as

aforesaid, but that no sale, mortgage, or other disposition of any lands, tenements, or

hereditaments of the Society shall be made, except with the approbation and concurrence of

a General Meeting. And our will and pleasure is, and we further grant and declare that

for the better rule
and government of the Society, and the direction and management of the concerns thereof,

there shall be a Council of the Society, to be appointed from among the Members thereof,

and to include the President and the Vice-Presidents, and such other office-bearers or past

office-bearers as may be directed by such Bye-laws as hereinafter mentioned, but so that

the Council, including all ex-officio Members thereof, shall consist of not more than forty

or less than twelve Members, and that the Vice-Presidents shall be not more than six or

less than two in number. And we do hereby further will and declare that the said Lindsay

Wood shall be the first President of the Society, and the persons now being the

Vice-Presidents, and the Treasurer and Secretary, shall be the first Vice-Presidents, and

the first Treasurer and Secretary, and the persons now being the Members of the Council

shall be the first Members of the Council of the Society, and that they respectfully shall

continue such until the first election shall be made at a General Meeting in pursuance of

these presents. And we do hereby further will and declare that, subject to the powers by

these presents vested in the General Meetings of the Society, the Council shall have the

management of the Society, and of the income and property thereof, including the

appointment of officers and servants, the definition of their duties, and the removal of

any of such officers and servants, and generally may do all such acts and deeds as they

shall deem necessary or fitting to be done, in order to carry into full operation and

effect the objects and purposes of the Society, but so always that the same be not

inconsistent with, or repugnant to, any of the provisions of this our Charter, or the Laws

of our Realm, or any Bye-law of the Society in force for the time being. And we do

further will and declare that at any General Meeting of the Society, it shall be lawful for

the Society, subject as hereinafter mentioned, to make such Bye-laws as to them shall seem

nece*ssary or proper for the regulation and good government of the Society, and of the

Members and affairs thereof, and generally for carrying the objects of the Society into

full and complete effect, and particularly (and without its being intended hereby to

prejudice the foregoing generality), to make Bye-laws for all or any of the purposes

hereinafter mentioned, that is to say: for fixing the number of Vice-Presidents, and the

number of Members of which the Council shall consist, and the manner of electing the

President and Vice-Presidents, and other Members of the Council, and the period of their

continuance in office, and the manner and time of supplying any vacancy therein; and for

regulating the times at which General Meetings of the Society and Meetings of the Council

shall be held, and for convening the same and regulating the proceedings thereat, and
for regulating the manner of admitting persons to be Members of the Society, and of

removing or expelling Members from the Society, and for imposing reasonable fines or

penalties for non-performance of any such Bye-laws, or for disobedience thereto, and from

time to time to annul, alter, or change any such Bye-laws so always that all Bye-laws to be

made as aforesaid be not repugnant to these presents, or to any of the laws of our Realm.

And we do further will and declare that the present Rules and Regulations of the Society,

so far as they are not inconsistent with these presents, shall continue in force, and be

deemed the Bye-laws of the Society until the same shall be altered by a General Meeting,

provided always that the present Rules and Regulations of the Society and any future

Bye-laws of the Society so to be made as aforesaid shall have no force or effect whatsoever

until the same shall have been approved in writing by our Secretary of State for the Home

Department. In witness whereof we have caused these our Letters to be made Patent.
Witness Ourself at our Palace, at Westminster, this 28th day of November, in the fortieth

year of our reign.
By Her Majesty's Command.
CARDEW.
THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OF
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
BYE-LAWS
PASSED AT A GENERAL MEETING ON THE 16th JUNE. 1877.
1.—The members of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers shall

consist of four classes, viz.:—Original Members, Ordinary Members, Associate Members, and

Honorary Members, with a class of Students attached.
2.—Original Members shall be those who were Ordinary Members on the 1st of August, 1877.
3.—Ordinary Members.—Every candidate for admission into the class of Ordinary Members, or

for transfer into that class, shall come within the following conditions :—He shall be more

than twenty-eight years of age, have been regularly educated as a Mining or Mechanical

Engineer, or in some other recognised branch of Engineering, according to the usual routine

of pupilage, and have had subsequent employment for at least five years in some responsible

situation as an Engineer, or if he has not undergone the usual routine of pupilage, he must

have practised on his own account in the profession of an Engineer for at least five years,

and have acquired a considerable degree of eminence in the same.
4.—Associate Members shall be persons practising as Mining or Mechanical Engineers, or in

some other recognised branch of Engineering, and other persons connected with or interested

in Mining or Engineering.
5.—Honorary Members shall be persons who have distinguished themselves by their literary or

scientific attainments, or who have made important communications to the Society.
6.—Students shall be persons who are qualifying themselves tor the profession of Mining or

Mechanical Engineering, or some other of the recognised branches of Engineering, and such

persons may continue Students until they attain the age of twenty-three years.
7.—The annual subscription of each Original Member, and of each Ordinary Member who was a

Student oh the 1st of August, 1877, shall be £2 2s., of each Ordinary Member (except as

last mentioned) £3 3s., of each Associate Member £2 2s., and of each Student £1 Is.,

payable in advance, and shall be considered due on election, and afterwards on the first

Saturday in August of each year.
8.—Any Member may, at any time, compound for all future subscriptions by a payment of £25,

where the annual subscription is £3 3s., and by a payment of £20 where the annual

subscription is £2 2s. All persons so compounding shall be Original, Ordinary, or Associate

Members for life, as the case may be ; but any Associate Member for life who may afterwards

desire to become an Ordinary Member for life, may do so, after being elected in the manner

described in Bye-law 13, and on payment of the further sum of £5.
9.—Owners of Collieries, Engineers, Manufacturers, and Employers of labour generally, may

subscribe annually to the funds of the Institute, and each such subscriber of £2 2s.

annually shall be entitled to a ticket to admit two persons to the rooms, library,

meetings, lectures, and public proceedings of the Society; and for every additional £2 2s.,

subscribed annually, two other persons shall be admissible up to the number of ten persons;

and each such Subscriber shall also be entitled for each £2 2s. subscription to have a copy

of the Proceedings of the Institute sent to him. 10.—In case any Member, who has been long

distinguished in his professional career, becomes unable, from ill-health, advanced age, or

other sufficient cause, to carry on a lucrative practice, the Council may, on the report of

a Sub-Committee appointed for that purpose, if they find good reason for the remission of

the annual subscription, so remit it. They may also remit any arrears which are due from a

member, or they may accept from him a collection of books, or drawings, or models, or other

contributions, in lieu of the composition mentioned in Bye-law 8, and may thereupon,

constitute him a Life Member, or permit him to resume his former rank in the Institute.
11.—Persons desirous of becoming Ordinary Members shall be proposed and recommended,

according to the Form A in the Appendix, in which form the name, usual residence, and

qualifications of the candidate shall be distinctly specified. This form must be signed by

the proposer and at least five other Members certifying a personal knowledge of the

candidate. The proposal so made being delivered to the Secretary, shall be submitted to the

Council, who on approving the qualifications shall determine if the candidate is to be

presented for ballot, and if it is so deter-
mined, the Chairman of the Council shall sign such approbation. The same shall be read at

the next Ordinary General Meeting, and afterwards be placed in some conspicuous situation

until the following Ordinary General Meeting, when the candidate shall be balloted for.
12.—Persons desirous of being admitted into the Institute as Associate Members, or

Students, shall be proposed by three Members; Honorary Members shall be proposed by at

least five Members, and shall in addition be recommended by the Council, who shall also

have the power of defining the time during which, and the circumstances under which, they

shall be Honorary Members. The nomination shall be in writing, and signed by the proposers

(according to the Form B in the Appendix), and shall be submitted to the first Ordinary

General Meeting after the date thereof. The name of the person proposed shall be exhibited

in the Society's room until the next Ordinary General Meeting, when the candidate shall be

balloted for.
13.—Associate Members or Students, desirous of becoming Ordinary Members, shall be proposed

and recommended according to the Form C in the Appendix, in which form the name, usual

residence, and qualifications of the candidate shall be distinctly specified. This form

must certify a personal knowledge of the candidate, and be signed by the proposer and at

least two other Members, and the proposal shall then be treated in the manner described in

Bye-law 11. Students may become Associate Members at any time after attaining the age of

twenty-three on payment of an Associate Member's subscription.
14.—The balloting shall be conducted in the following manner:— Each Member attending the

Meeting at which a ballot is to take place shall be supplied (on demand) with a list of the

names of the persons to be balloted for, according to the Form D in the Appendix, and shall

strike out the names of such candidates as he desires shall not be elected, and return the

list to the scrutineers appointed by the presiding Chairman for the purpose, and such

scrutineers shall examine the lists so returned, and inform the meeting what elections have

been made. No candidate shall be elected unless he secures the votes of two-thirds of the

Members voting.
¦ 15.—Notice of election shall be sent to every person within one week after his election,

according to the Form E in the Appendix, enclosing at the sa,t/ie time a copy of Form F,

which shall be returned by the person elected, signed, and accompanied with the amount of

his annual subscription, or life composition, within two months from the date of such

election, which otherwise should become void.
(xlvi)
16.—Every Ordinary Member elected having signed a declaration in the Form F, and having

likewise made the proper payment, shall receive a certificate of his election.
17.—Any person whose subscription is fc\ro years in arrear shall be reported to the

Council, who shall direct application to be made for it, according to the Form G in the

Appendix, and in the event of its continuing one month in arrear after such application,

the Council shall have the power, after remonstrance by letter, according to the Form H in

the Appendix, of declaring that the defaulter has ceased to be a member.
18.—In case the expulsion of any person shall be judged expedient by ten or more Members,

and they think fit to draw up and sign a proposal requiring such expulsion, the same being

delivered to the Secretary, shall be by him laid before the Council for consideration. If

the Council, after due inquiry, do not find reason to concur in the proposal, no entry

thereof shall be made in any minutes, nor shall any public discussion thereon be permitted,

unless by requisition signed by one-half the Members of the Institute ; but if the Council

do find good reason for the proposed expulsion, they shall direct the Secretary to address

a letter, according to the Form I in the Appendix, to the person proposed to be expelled,

advising him to withdraw from the Institute. If that advice be followed, no entry on the

minutes nor any public discussion on the subject shall be permitted ; but if that advice be

not followed, nor an explanation given which is satisfactory to the Council, they shall

call a General Meeting for the purpose of deciding on the question of expulsion ; and if a

majority of the persons present at such Meeting (provided the number so present be not less

than forty) vote that such person be expelled, the Chairman of that Meeting shall declare

the same accordingly, and the Secretary shall communicate the same to the person, according

to the Form J in the Appendix.
19.—The Officers of the Institute, other than the Treasurei and the Secretary, shall be

elected from the Original, Ordinary and Associate Members, and shall consist of a

President, six Yice-Presidents, and eighteen Councillors, who, with the Treasurer and the

Secretary (if Members of the Institute) shall constitute the Council. The President,

Yice-Presidents, and Councillors shall be elected at the Annual Meeting in August (except

in cases of vacancies) and shall be eligible for re-election, with the exception of any

President or Vice-President who may have held office for the three immediately preceding

years, and such six Councillors as may have attended the fewest Council Meetings during the

past
(xlvii)
year; but such Members shall be eligible for re-election after being one year out of

office.
20.—The Treasurer and the Secretary shall be appointed by the Council, and shall be

removable by the Council, subject to appeal to a General Meeting. One and the same

person may hold both these offices.
21.—Each Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member shall be at liberty to nominate in

writing, and send to the Secretary not less than eight days prior to the Ordinary General

Meeting in June, a list, duly signed, of Members suitable to fill the offices of President,

Vice-Presidents, and Members of Council, for the ensuing year. The Council shall prepare a

list of the persons so nominated, together with the names of the Officers for the current

year eligible for re-election, and of such other Members as they deem suitable for the

various offices. Such list shall comprise the names of not less than thirty. The list so

prepared by the Council shall be submitted to the General Meeting in June, and shall be the

balloting list for the annual election in August. (See Form K in the Appendix.) A copy of

this list shall be posted at least seven days previous to the Annual Meeting, to every

Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member; who may erase any name or names from the list,

and substitute the name or names of any other person or persons eligible for each

respective office; but the number of persons on the list, after such erasure or

substitution, must not exceed the number to be elected to the respective offices. Papers

which do not accord with these directions shall be rejected by the scrutineers. The Votes

for any Members who may not be elected President or Vice-Presidents shall count for them as

Members of the Council. The Chairman shall appoint four scrutineers, who shall receive the

balloting papers, and, after making the necessary scrutiny, destroy the same, and sign and

hand to the Chairman a list of the elected Officers. The balloting papers may be returned

through the post, addressed to the Secretary, or be handed to him, or to the Chairman of

the Meeting, so as to be received before the appointment of the scrutineers for the

election of Officers.
22.—In case of the decease or resignation of any Officer or Officers, the Council, if they

deem it requisite that the vacancy shall be filled up, shall present to the next Ordinary

General Meeting a list of persons whom they nominate as suitable for the vacant offices,

and a new Officer or Officers shall be elected at the succeeding Ordinary General Meeting.
23.—The President shall take the chair at all meetings of the Institute, the Council, and

Committees, at which he is present (he being ex-officio a member of all), and shall

regulate and keep order in the proceedings.
24.—In the absence of the President, it shall be the duty of the senior Vice-President

present to preside at the meetings of the Institute, to keep order, and to regulate the

proceedings. In case of the absence of the President and of all the Vice-Presidents, the

meeting may elect any Member of Council, or in case of their absence, any Member present,

to take the chair at the meeting.
25.—The Council may appoint Committees for the purpose of transacting any particular

business, or of investigating specific subjects connected with the objects of the

Institute. Such Committees shall report to the Council, who shall act thereon as they see

occasion.
26.—The Treasurer and the Secretary shall act under the direction and control of the

Council, by which body their duties shall from time to time be defined.
27.—The Funds of the Society shall be deposited in the hands of the Treasurer, and shall be

disbursed or invested by him according to the direction of the Council.
28.—The Copyright of all papers communicated to, and accepted for printing by the Council,

and printed within twelve months, shall become vested in the Institute, and such

communications shall not be published for sale or otherwise, without the written permission

of the Council.
29.—An Ordinary General Meeting shall be held on the first Saturday of every month (except

January and July) at two o'clock, unless otherwise determined by the Council; and the

Ordinary General Meeting in the month of August shall be the Annual Meeting, at which a

report of the proceedings, and an abstract of the accounts of the previous year, shall be

presented by the Council. A Special General Meeting shall be called whenever the Council

may think fit, and also on a requisition to the Council, signed by ten or more Members. The

business of a Special Meeting shall be confined to that specified in the notice convening

it.
30.—At meetings of the Council, five shall be a quorum. The minutes of the Council's

proceedings shall be at all times open to the inspection of the Members.
31.—All Past-Presidents shall be ex-officio Members of the Council so long as they continue

Members of the Institute, and Vice-Presidents who have not been re-elected or have become

ineligible from having held office for three consecutive years, shall be ex-officio Members

of the Council for the following year.
32.—Every question, not otherwise provided for, which shall come before any Meeting, shall

be decided by the votes of the majority of the Original, Ordinary, and Associate Members

then present.
33.—All papers shall be sent for the approval of the Council at least twelve days before a

General Meeting, and after approval, shall be read before the Institute. The Council shall

also direct whether any paper read before the Institute shall be printed in the

Transactions, and notice shall be given to the writer within one month after it has been

read, whether it is to be printed or not.
34.—All proofs of reports of discussions, forwarded to Members for correction, must be

returned to the Secretary within seven days from the date of their receipt, otherwise they

will be considered correct and be printed off.
35.—The Institute is not, as a body, responsible for the statements and opinions advanced

in the papers which may be read, nor in the discussions which may take place at the

meetings of the Institute.
36.—Twelve copies of each paper printed by the Institute shall be presented to the author

for private use.
37.—Members elected at any meeting between the Annual Meetings shall be entitled to all

papers issued in that year, so soon as they have signed and returned Form F, and paid their

subscriptions.
38.—The Transactions of the Institute shall not be forwarded to Members whose subscriptions

are more than one year in arrear.
39.—No duplicate copies of any portion of the Transactions shall be issued to any of the

Members unless by written order from the Council.
40.—Invitations shall be forwarded to any person whose presence at the discussions the

Council may think advisable, and strangers so invited shall be permitted to take part in

the proceedings but not to vote. Any Member of the Institute shall also have power to

introduce two strangers (see Form L) to any General Meeting, but they shall not take part

in the proceedings except by permission of the Meeting.
41.—No alteration shall be made in the Bye-laws of the Institute, except at the Annual

Meeting, or at a Special Meeting for that purpose, and the particulars of every such

alteration shall be announced at a previous Ordinary Meeting, and inserted in its minutes,

and shall be exhibited in the room of the Institute fourteen days previous to such Annual

or Special Meeting, and such Meeting shall have power to adopt any modification of such

proposed alteration of the Bye-laws.
Approved,
R. ASSHETON CEOSS.
Whitehall,
2nd July, 1877.
APPENDIX TO THE BYE-LAWS.
[FORM A.]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full], being upwards of

twenty-eight years of age, and desirous of being elected an Ordinary Member of the North of

England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, I recommend him from personal

knowledge as a person in every respect worthy of that distinction, because—
[Mere specify distinctly the qualifications of the Candidate, according to the spirit
of Bye-law 5.]
On the above grounds, I beg leave to propose him to the Council as a proper person to be

admitted an Ordinary Member.
Signed-----------------------------------------Member.
Dated this day of 18
We, the undersigned, concur in the above recommendation, being convinced that A. B. is in

every respect a proper person to be admitted an ordinary Member.
FBOM l'ERSONAl KNOWLEDGE.
iFive Membei's.
[ To be filled up by the Council.']
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present A. B. to be balloted for

as a of the North of England Institute
of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
Signed_____________________Chairman.
Dated this day of 18
(li)
[FORM B.]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full], being desirous of

admission into the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, we, the

undersigned, propose and recommend that he shall become [an Honorary Member, or an

Associate Member, or a Student] thereof.
-( Three* ---------------------------------------r Members,
* If an Honorary Member, five signatures are necessary, and the following Form must be

filled in by the Council.
Dated this day of 18
[To be filled up by the Council.]
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present A. B. to be balloted for

as an Honorary Member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
Signed .___.____________________Chairman.
Dated day of 18
[FORM C]
A. B. [Christian Name, Surname, Occupation, and Address in full], being at present a

of the North of England Institute of Mining
and Mechanical Engineers, and upwards of twenty-eight years of age, and being desirous of

becoming an Ordinary Member of the said Institute, I recommend him, from personal

knowledge, as a person in every respect worthy of that distinction, because-—
[Here specify distinctly the Qualifications of the Candidate according to the spirit
of Bye-law 5.]
On the above grounds, I beg leave to propose him to the Council as a proper person to be

admitted an Ordinary Member.
Signed____________________Member.
Dated this day of 18
We, the undersigned, concur in the above recommendation, being
(Hi)
convinced that A. B. is in every respect a proper person to be admitted an Ordinary Member.
FBOM PEHSONAL KNOWLEDGE.
----------------------------------____( Two
| Members.
[To be filled up by the Council.']
The Council, having considered the above recommendation, present A. B. to be balloted for

as an Ordinary Member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers.
Signed_______________________Chairman.
Dated day of 18
[FORM D.]
List of the names of persons to be balloted for at the Meeting on , the day of

18
Ordinary Members:—
Associate Members:— Honorary Members :—
Students :—
Strike out the names of such persons as you desire should not be elected, and hand the list

to the Chairman.
[FORM B.]
Sir,—I beg leave to inform you that on the day of
you were elected a of the North of England Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers, but in conformity with its Bules your election cannot be

confirmed until the enclosed form be returned to me
(liiij
with your signature, and until your first annual subscription be paid, the amount of which

is £ , or, at your option, the life-composition
of £
If the subscription is not received within two months from one present date, the election

will become void under Bye-law 15.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary. Dated 18
[FORM P.]
I, the undersigned, being elected a of the North
of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, do hereby agree that I will be

governed by the Charter and Bye-laws of the said Institute for the time being; and that 1

will advance the objects of the Institute as far as shall be in my power, and will not aid

in any unauthorised publication of the proceedings, and will attend the meetings thereof as

often as I conveniently can; provided that whenever I shall signify in writing to the

Secretary that I am desirous of withdrawing my name therefrom, I shall (after the payment

of any arrears which may be due by me at that period) cease to be a Member.
Witness my hand this day of 18
[FOBM G.]
Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute of Mining and

Mechanical Engineers to draw your attention to Bye-law 17, and to remind you that the sum

of £ of your annua, subscriptions to the funds of the Institute remains

unpaid, and that you are in consequence in arrear of subscription. I am also directed to

request that you will cause the same to be paid without further delay, otherwise the

Council will be under the necessity of exercising their discretion as to using the power

vested in them by the Article above referred to.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary Dated 18
(liv)
[FOKM H.] Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute of Mining and

Mechanical Engineers to inform you, that in consequence of non-payment of your arrears of

subscription, and in pursuance of Bye-law 17, the Council have determined that unless

payment of the amount £ is made previous to the day of
next, they will proceed to declare that you have ceased to be a Member of the Institute.
But, notwithstanding this declaration, you will remain liable for payment of the arrears

due from you.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM I.] Sir,—I am directed by the Council of the North of England Institute of Mining and

Mechanical Engineers to inform you that, upon mature consideration of a proposal which has

been laid before them relative to you, they feel it their duty to advise you to withdraw

from the Institute, or otherwise they will be obliged to act in accordance with Bye-law 18.
I am, Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Secretary.
Dated 18
[FORM J.]
Sir,—It is my duty to inform you that, under a resolution passed at a Special General

Meeting of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, held on the

day of
18 , according to the provisions of Bye-law 18 you have ceased to be a Member of the

Institute.
I am. Sir,
Yours faithfully.
Secretary,
Dated 18
(IV)
[FORM K.] BALLOTING LIST.
Ballot to take place at the Meeting of 18 at Two o'Clock.
President—One Name only to be returned, or the vote will be lost.
----------- President for the current year eligible for re-election.
________\ New Nominations.

-g
)

o
Vice-Presidents—Six Names only to be returned, or the vote g
will be lost. >?
The Votes for any Members who may not be elected as §
President or Vice-Presidents will count for them as other Members g"
of the Council.

J
* ?
Vice-Presidents for the current year eligible for re- S '&
election. *z;

£
<VH O
O £>
----------------)

s «* J§
-------------(

9 ^ o
> New Nominations. 3

j* p "g
I

" p) M C3
os b S p g Council—Eightebn Names only to be returned, or the vote £ «

« ,§ 2
•11 U 1 *

tD S P-l «S '
wul be lost. a cq ¦ £ a
•*• r< EJ *M
S P^ > H <&
------------------

td w
_______

§ o as w §
-------------

a a
----------- (_ Members of the Council for the current year eligible for 2

£
-----------' re-election.

-g «
--------- 3

£
--------- %

*
-----------------'

KS
___________

<c
o
-----------------------

oj
____ ¥
---------

.8
= . t
_______ >New Nominations.
Extract from Bye-law 21.
Each Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member shall be at liberty to nominate in writing,

and send to the Secretary not less than eight days prior to the Ordinary General Meeting in

June, a list, duly signed, of Members suitable to fill the Offices of President,

Vice-Presidents, and Members of Council, for the ensuing year. The Council shall prepare a

list of the persons so nominated, together with the names of the Officers for the current

year eligible for re-election, and of such other Members as they deem suitable for the

various offices. Such list shall comprise the names of not less than thirty. The list so

prepared by the Council shall be submitted to the General Meeting in June, aud shall be the

balloting list for the annual election in August. (See Vuxm K in the Appendix.) A copy of

this list shall be posted at least seven dw«
(lvi)
previous to the Annual Meeting, to every Original, Ordinary, and Associate Member: who may

erase any name or names from the list, and substitute the name or names of any other person

or persons eligible for each respective office; but the number of persons on the list.after

such erasure or substitution, must not exceed the number to be elected to the respective

offices. Papers which do not accord with these directions shall be rejected by the

Scrutineers. The votes for any Members who may not be elected President or Vice-Presidents

shall count for them as Members of the Council. The Chairman shall appoint four

Scrutineers, who shall receive the balloting papers, and after making the necessary

scrutiny destroy the same, and sign and hand to the Chairman a list of the elected

Officers, The balloting papers may be returned through the post, addressed to the

Secretary, or be handed to him, or to the Chairman of the Meeting, so as to be received

before the appointment of the Scrutineers for the election of Officers.
Names substituted for any of the above are to be written in the blank spaces opposite those

they are intended to supersede.
The following Members are ineligible from causes specified in Bye-law 19 :—
AS PbESIDENT_______________:_________________________________________,
As Vice-Pbesident________.____________________________
AS COUNCILLOKS____________________________ . ____....._______._____
[FORM L.]
Admit
of
to the Meeting on Saturday, the
(Signature of Member or Student)
The Chair to be taken at Two o'Olock. I undertake to abide by the Regulations of the North

of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and not to aid in any unauthorised

publication of the Proceedings.
(Signature of Visitor) NTofc transferable.
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OP
MINING AMD MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th, 1887, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL.
Mb. T. J. BEWICK in the Chaib.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported the proceedings of the

Council.
The following gentlemen were elected, having been previously nominated:—
Obdinaey Membees—
Mr. Chaeles Z. Bunning, Warora, Central Provinces, India.
Mr. John Cbighton, 2, Clarence Buildings, Booth Street, Manchester
Associate Membees—
Mr. W. C. Cocebtjbn, 1, St. Nicholas' Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr. E. McCaethy,

A.R.S.M., 60, Sunniside Road, Ealing, W.. London.
Student— Mr. Geo. W. Poesteb, Heworth Colliery, near Newcastle-on-Tyne.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election:—
Honobaey Membeb— Mr. William Beattie Scott, Mines Inspector, Wolverhampton.
Oedinaey Membee— Mr. William Stephenson Blackbuen, Mining Engineer, Astley House,

Woodlesford, near Leeds.
2 GENERAL MEETING.
Associate Membees—
Mr. Joseph R. Irvine, Hendon Ropery, Sunderland.
Mr.( William Lee, Felling Colliery. Ne\vcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Emanuel Tiers, Mechanical Engineer, Mohpani, Central
Provinces, India. Mr. Jacob Wallah, Messrs. Black, Hawthorn, & Co., Gateshead. Mr. Bennet

H. Bkohoh, Assoc. R.S.M., F.G.S., &c, School of Mines,
Adelphi, London, W.C. Mr. John Andeew Young, Engineer, 7, Tyne Vale Terrace, Gateshead.
Mr. M. Walton Beown read the following paper on "A further attempt for the correlation of

the Coal-seams of the Carboniferous Formation of the North of England, with some notes on

the probable duration of the Coal-field ":—
A FURTHER ATTEMPT FOR THE CORRELATION OF THE COAL SEAMS OF THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION" OF

THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, WITH SOME NOTES UPON THE PROBABLE DURATION OF THE COAL-FIELD.
Br M. WALTON BROWN.
INTRODUCTION.
The Carboniferous formation of the North of England is usually-divided into two divisions

:—
A.—Upper Carboniferous, comprising the true Coal-Measures, Gan-nister beds, and Millstone

Grit.
B.—Lower Carboniferous, comprising the Carboniferous Limestone or Bernician series, Tuedian

and Basement beds.
The great Northern coal-field of Northumberland and Durham consists of the Upper and Lower

Carboniferous Measures lying against the coast line of the North Sea.
The Upper Carboniferous rocks extend from Staindrop, near the River Tees, on the south, to

the mouth of the River Coquet on the north, a distance of about 52 miles, with a maximum

width of about 20 miles.
This coal-field is of trough-like form, whose longer axis lies along the coast line, with

the beds rising more or less regularly to the north and west.
The Lower Carboniferous rocks are found in the western and northern portions of the two

counties, as they rise from under the denuded Upper Carboniferous rocks, and form the

rolling moorlands and mountainous areas of the Pennine chain.
In other districts the Coal-Measures are divided into upper, middle, and lower, but in this

district it is preferable to class all the strata above the Brockwell Seam as true

Coal-Measures.
UPPER CARBONIFEROUS MEASURES.
A valuable " Synopsis of the several Seams of Coal in the Newcastle District" was read by

Mr. John Buddie in 1880, before the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and

Newcastle-upon-Tyne.*
* See Transactions, 1831, Vol. I., pp. 117-131.
4 COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
This synopsis was revised in 1863, by Messrs. Nicholas Wood, J. Taylor, and J. Marley, and

will be found in a paper on "Coal Mining, &c," appearing in Vol. XII. of the Transactions

of this Institute, page 153. A most valuable sheet diagram was arranged by Mr. J. B.

Simpson in 1877, which shows the depth, thickness, and local names of the seams in several

of the principal collieries of the various districts.
Upon the aforementioned basis the synopsis given in Table I., pages 6 and 7, shows the

probable correlation of the seams of the Ooal-Measures in the different districts.
Throughout the whole coal-field the coal is of bituminous qualities, with the exception of

small areas in certain seams, where local deposits of anthracite and cannel coal have been

discovered.
Various estimates have been made at different times as to the profitable duration of the

Northumberland and Durham coal-field, which are summarised in the Table given on the

opposite page.
The estimate of the Royal Commission in 1871 of the coal then remaining unworked was:—
Area in Tons of Coals
Square Miles. in Millions.
Land............... 685 ... 6,734
3£ miles under the sea ... ... Ill ... , 1,137
Totals......... 796 ... 7,871
Deduct quantity worked out since 1871 ... ... 500
7,371
This quantity would supply the present annual demand of about 36 million tons for about 200

years.
In the Gannister beds and Millstone Grit series (lying below the true Coal-Measures) some

thin seams ot coal are found, which have been worked from time to time. The chief of these

are the Victoria and Marshall Green Seams. A workable seam of about 2 feet in thickness is

occasionally found at about 12 fathoms below the Brockwell Seam, a second workable seam of

similar thickness being found at a further depth of 15 fathoms. It is also known by borings

that other and probably worthless seams exist within a further depth of 150 feet, or 300

feet in all, below the Brockwell Seam.
LOWER CARBONIFEROUS MEASURES.
The Lower Carboniferous coals are Lund in the Carboniferous Limestone or Bernician series,

which are separated from the Brockwell Seam by a thickness of about 1,100 feet of strata.
10 COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
Many papers upon the geology of the Lower Carboniferous Measures of Northumberland and

Durham have been published from time to time.* Some of the most valuable of these appear in

the Transactions of this Institute, written by the late Mr. Nicholas Wood, Mr. E. F. Boyd,

Mr. B. Gibsone, Professor G. A. Lebour, Mr. T. J. Bewick, and others.
The synopsis of the coal-seams and limestones of the Bernician series given in Table II.,

pages 12 and 13, is brought forward with some hesitation; it is not to be considered as

more than a tentative effort, and subject to the criticism of those persons who are well

acquainted with the geological features of these measures in the two northern counties.
The qualities of the coals, the produce of these seams, render them suitable for household,

gas-making, and manufacturing purposes, but at present their application depends more

especially upon the facilities of working and sale.
These seams are not extensively worked as compared with the Upper Carboniferous Measures,

but their commercial value is becoming enhanced, and, with greater facilities of transit,

their exploration is well worthy the attention of capitalists. They appear to be of

contemporaneous formation with the Carboniferous Limestone coals of Scotland (known there

as the Lower Coal-Measures).
The resources of the Lower Carboniferous or Mountain Limestone districts of Northumberland

wrere estimated by Mr. T. E. Forster, in 1871, for the Coal Commission, at 665 million

tons. An examination of the synopsis of these seams tends to show that the available areas

and thickness of the seams have been under-estimated. Thus in the Sere- * merston district

the seams appear to be from 54 to 73 feet in aggregate thickness. This development is not

found in other parts of the Mountain Limestone, as in the more southern districts not more

than four seams are found, which are only of workable thickness in small areas.
In an area of 1,200 square miles in the northern parts of this coalfield (omitting the

portions covered by the LTpper Coal-Measures) it may be assumed that there is at least 10

feet in thickness of workable coal. The contents of one square mile of this thickness will

be 9,600,000 tons, and of 1,200 square miles will, consequently, be 11,520 million tons.
After an ample allowance for dykes and other interruptions, there will probably remain an

available supply of 8,000 million tons.
* N. J. Winch, "Observations on the Geology of Northumberland and Durham," Transactions of

the Geological Society (London), 1816, Vol. IV., pages 1 to 100. "Remarks on the Geology of

the Danks of the Tweed," Transactions of Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham,

and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1831, Vol. I., pp. 117-131. "On the Geology of a part of

Northumberland and Cumberland/5 by Nicholas Wood, Killingworth, 1831. Ibid. Vol. 1.,

302-331. "A Geological Map of Northumberland and Durham,'' George Tate, 1867. Ibid.

Vol. 1i.
COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 15
OUTLIERS OF THE UPPER CARBONIFEROUS MEASURES.
There is also a string of small detached trough-like formations of Coal-Measures extending

from the Main Coal Field into Cumberland. They are found lying along the north and

down-throw side of a large East and West Fault known as the Great Stublick Dyke. Their

presence is due to two concurrent causes, the general flatness of the beds in the western

districts and the disturbance caused by the East and West Fault. Had these five seams lying

in the lower ] art of the Coal-Measures and the Gannister beds maintained their regular

inclination, they would have outcropped about twTenty miles from the sea, but the joint

effect of the causes already mentioned allows the existence of the small and isolated

coal-fields of Midgeholme, Coanwood, Stublick, etc., for a further distance of thirty

miles.
No. Midgeholme. Coanwood. Piainmeller. Stublick.
/ 4 Five-Quarter. Five-Quarter. Five-Quarter. Cannel.
True Coal ! ** Three-Quarter Three-Quarter Yard. Yard.
Measures. \ 2 Wellsike. Coomroof. Coomroof.

Three-Quarter.
^ 1* Seven-Quarter Slag. Main Coal. Main Coal.
Gannister ( 3 Cannel. Cannel. Cannel.

Foot Coal.
Beds and Mill-1 stone Grit \ 2 ...... ......

...... Little Coal.
Series- l 1 ...... ...... ......

Stone Coal.
* This is probably upon the same horizon as the Brockwell Seam.
CONCLUSION: A NEW THEORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE COAL SEAMS OF THE UPPER CARBONIFEROUS

MEASURES.
From a full consideration of the relative positions of the coal-seams in the true measures,

it appears possible that they should be considered as portions of one and the same seam

which was in continuous formation during a long period of time. If this theory be based

upon fact, the Coal-Measures must be then considered as one seam of coal, with intercalated

bands or beds of sandstone, shale, and other rocks. The various districts where coal-seams

are brought into contact, with thin or no bands between them, are shown by the ,—-—, in the

synopsis.
It is safe, therefore, to assume that in the case of seams 13, 14, and 15, the formation of

the coal was continuous, and that the varying thicknesses of strata intercalated in various

areas are merely bands of greater than ordinary thickness. This is shown in Plate I.
Many other instances could be instanced in support of the theory
16 COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
but the one already quoted shows that during the formation of the Con-sett Hutton Seam it

was divided by the intercalated strata A and B into three seams at Felling, and into two

seams at Hebburn and Teams.
These ideas upon the mode ot formation of coal-seams are strengthened by the following

extract from a paper upon the "Magnesian Limestone of Durham," by Messrs. John Daglish and

Gr. B. Forster, appearing in the Transactions of this Institute, Vol. XIII., page 212:—"The

roof of a seam of coal consists at one place of a hard sandstone, which, thinning out more

or less abruptly, is replaced by soft shale, and at times the shale comes in as a wedge,

without displacing the sandstone, and gradually increases to a thick bed. Even beds of coal

themselves, commencing wTith a few inches, thicken to many feet, are separated by layers of

shale into distinct seams, and again become one by the disappearance of the band of shale."
The following section of the Mountain Limestone has been added by the writer at the request

of various members :—
Section of the Mountain Limestone Formation between the Tweed and Coquet, prepared by

Messrs. William and John Wilson, of Shilbottle Colliery.
Reference Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft. In.

Remarks.
Coarse sandstone rock... 10 0 0 At Warkworth Hermitage and Houn-
Blue metal ...... 110 denDena
1 COAL ... ... 0 2 0 At Hounden

Dene Burn and the Oo-
-------------. 11 3 0 «uet-
Black and grey metal ... 3 0 0
Coarse pebbly sandstone 14 0 0 At Shortridge House.
Blue metal ...... 14 0
Iron band ...... 0 0 2
White metal ...... 0 2 0
Blue metal ...... 0 0 3
White metal ...... 1 1 2
Blue metal ...... 0 10
Hard sandstone ... 1 5 9
Blue metal ... ... 1 4 9
COAL ...... 0 0 6
----------- 24 1 7
Black metal ... ... 0 ] 6
White metal ...... 0 3 8
Blue metal ...... 0 5 6
Beddy freestone ... 1 0 9
White freestone ... 1 3 0
Blue metal ...... 0 5 4
Sandstone ... ... 0 0 6
COAL ...... 0 0 6
------------5 2 9
Grey metal ... ... 1 4 0
Bastard limestone ... 0 1 0 Grev metal ... ... 0 3 0
White metal ...... 0 3 9
Blue metal ...... 0 5 9
Beddy freestone ... 0 3 9
Carried forward 4 3 3 41 1 4
COAL-SEAMS OF THE NOBTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 17
Section op the Mountain Limestone.—Continued.
Eeference. Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft. In.

Remarks.
Brought forward 4 3 3 41 I 4
Blue metal ...... 0 3 4
Bastard limestone ... 00 9
Blue metal ...... 0 1 4
Brown sandstone ... 0 1 5
Beddy sandstone ... 1 5 8
Pale blue metal ... 3 0 0
Soft limestone ... ... 3 5 0
Sandstone ... ... 0 3 0
Bastard limestone ... 0 3 3
Metal ...... 0 2 9
Sandstone ... ... 0 0 6
Metal ...... 0 16
White sandstone ... 1 5 0
Bastard limestone ... 0 1 4
White limestone ... 0 4 9
Dun sandstone ... ... 0 2 5
Blue metal ...... 0 1 1
Grey sandstone... ... 0 3 11
Limestone ... ... 0 4 3
Grey sandstone... ... 1 0 10
Blue metal ...... 4 2 0
White flinty stone, very
hard ... ... 2 0 0
Metal ...... 0 2 0
Sandstone ... ... .0 4 0
White sandstone ... 0 2 7
Dun metal ...... 0 3 0
Grey sandstone ... 1 4 0
Metal ...... 0 16
Hard dark stone ... 0 1 2
Blue metal ... .... 2 2 6
A. Limestone ... ... 0 4 0 Little Lime

(?).
Blue metal ...... 0 1 3
Grey sandstone ... 0 1 6
Blue metal ...... 0 13
Grey metal ...... 0 2 7
Grey sandstone... ... 3 1 9
White sandstone ... 5 1 7 Full of water, running 20

gallons per
Blue metal ¦ ... ... 0 2 2 minute at top of

hole.
Dun sandstone ... ... 0 4 1
Dun metal ...... 0 3 2
Dun sandstone ... ... 1 4 5
Dun metal ... ... 1 0 6
Grey sandstone beds ... 2 0 9
Beddy metal ...... 1 2 0
Grey sandstone ... 1 0 2
Blue metal ...... 0 3 9
Sandstone and beds of
metal ...... 12 0 0
Coarse grey sandstone ... 4 30 Sandstone and beds of
metal ...... 3 2 0
B. Limestone ... ... 0 3 0
Blue metal ...... 12 0
Ft. In. \ COAL, fine ... 0 9 i
9 ) fl n AI rnx vao 1 O l

Lying in valley to Northeast fro a
) Ji)£. a .' ~oarse"' x u i •

Woodhouse.
( COAL, fine ... 0 4 I
------- 0 2 1
------------- 76 5 1
Carried forward 118 0 5
% 18 COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
Section of the Mountain Limestone.—Continued.
Reference. Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft.

In. Remarks.
Brought forward 118 0 5
Blue metal ...... 14 0
Dun sandstone... ... 0 3 0
Coarse yellow sandstone 11 0 0 At Hill Head Dene Well.
Grey metal ...... 8 2 0
Beddy sandstone ... 4 3 0
Metai ...... 0 5 0
3. COAL ... ... 02 0 Shilbottle,

Hill Head, or Licker Coal,
_________ o<7 i A found South of Shilbottle, and at
&t l u Hazon Lea, Dryburn, Berrington,
Grey thilly stone ... 2 3 0 Licker, Chirm, and

Birkheads.
Sandstone ... ... 3 5 6 Shilbottle

Beacon Freestone Quarry.
Blue metal ...... 13 0 Fossil Plants.
C. Limestone ... ... 0 4 0 At Beacon,

above Shilbottle.
Black metal ...... 0 4 6
Limestone ... ... 0 2 6
Black band stone ... 0 3 3
Limestone ... ... 0 5 6
Beddy sandstone ... 2 1 0
Blue metal, with hard
bands ...... 9 3 0
D. Limestone ... ... 4 4 0 Ten-Yard or

Great Lime, at Shilbottle
-r,, • i .VV v j' i s\ a

Townhead Quarry, Whittle, Newton,
Blue metal, With bands 10 6 Brinkburn, Beadnell, Spital,

Ford!
Sandstone ... ... 5 5 6 Dryburn

and Berrington. At Ebs-
nook, near Beadnell, this limestone contains a portion of magnesia.
4. COAL ...... 03 6 At Shilbottle Townhead,

Whittle, New-
_________ n- r\ q ton, Brinkburn, Beadnell, Dryburn,
00 V a Longframlington, Lowick, Embleton,
rv „i j i.i i a„ j. i i r\

Littlehoughton, Denwick, Hawkhill,
Fire clay and black dent 110 Tuggaii, and Christen Bank.
Coarse sandstone ... 12 2 0 At Longhoughton Station

and Buston
Blue metal ...... 6 3 0 Quarry-
E. Limestone, and metal Eight-Yard Stone,

at Shilbottle, Bead-
ahnnt, 30 inplips thick 4 4, 0 nell> Newton' Brinkburn,

Tuggall,
aoout OU Irenes tniCK: 4 4 U Embleton, Christon Bank,

Rock,
COAL and black dent... 0 0 6 Denwick, Lowick, Beal, and Kyloe.

_________ 24 4 6 With marine fossils.
White hard sandstone... 14 0
Brown sandstone ... 2 3 0
Blue metal and ironstone 6 5 0
F. Limestone ... ... 3 0 0 Six-Yard

Stone, at Beadnell, Denwick,
/»nAI n a a Little

Mill, Hawkhill, Shilbottle,
V'UML ••• . ... U U 0 Lowick,

Tuggall, Scremerston, Holy
-------------14 0 6 Island, Newton, Brinkburn, Rock,
Grey slaty sandstone ... 2 3 4 and whittle.
Blue metal ...... 3 3 4
Limestone ...... 0 2 0
Thill stone and sandstone 0 5 0 Grey metal ... ... 1 5 0
5. COAL 0 2 4

Shilbottle Main Coal or Lowick Lime
- „ „ Coal, at Brinkburn, Littlehoughton, -------------y a V Denwick,

Hawkhill, Shilbottle. Bead-Grey freestone thill ... 1 2 0

neU. Tuggall, Emblnton, Christon ¦di .„ „„a„i o

i n Bank, Rock, Lowick, Beal, Holy
Blue metal ...... 2 10 Island, and Newton.
Beddy sandstone ... 6 1 0
* Pale blue metal ... 1 4 0
G. Black limestone ... 1 1 0 Grey slaty sandstone ... 4 3

2
H. Limestone ... ... 4 3 0 Nine-Yard

or Main Lime, at Beadnell
col,j„f„,,- c n A Main

Quarry. Shilbottle Tile Sheds, sandstone ...... O U O

Brinkburn. Newhouses Woods, Tug-Blue metal • ... ... 3 0 0

gall. North Sunderland, Beadnell,
T 7 ;mnst™n n K A

Falloden, Book, Denwick, Lowick,
i. limestone ...... U O U Hetton Coal

Houses, Oxford, and
Blue metal ... ... 2 0 0 Greenses.
6. COAL 0 3 2 Beadnell

Main Coal, at North Sunder-
on » . land Beadnell, Falloden, Rock, Den-
------------- 62 5 4 Wick (big coal), Shilbottle Tile Sheds.
---------------Greenses, Hetton Coal Houses, An-
Carried forward 261 3 6 ^"-^ Oxford.
* Approximate horizon of whin sill.
COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 19
Section of the Mountain Limestone.—Continued.
Reference. Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft. In.

Remarks.
Brought forward 261 3 6
Grey sandstone thill ... 0 5 0 Beddy sandstone ... 2 0 0
7. COAL ...... 015 Beadnell Windmill Coal.
------------- 3 0 5
Grey beddy sandstone... 7 3 0
Pale blue metal ... 1 1 6
Grey beddy sandstone... 1 3 0
Blue metal ... ... 1 4 0
Red sandstone ... ... 6 2 0
Grey metal ...... 3 4 6
Limestone ... ... 0 2 6
Grey beddy sandstone ... 1 0 6
Grey metal ... ... 4 5 6
8. COAL ...014 Stoneclose Coal, at

Beadnell and Stone-
-------------¦ 28 3 10 close-
Grey beddy sandstone... 1 4 0
Blue metal ...... 0 5 1
Beddy sandstone ... 1 3 6
Blue metal ...... 3 0 8
Limestone brat... ... 0 2 6
K" T ;mo4m,o 9 A n Five-Yard or

Stoneclose Limestone, at
7t^«. ...... i ^ , Beadnell.
COAL ...... 0 0 4
-------------9 4 1
Grey thill stone ... 1 3 0
Grey beddy sandstone... 2 0 0 L. Limestone .050

At Fleetham and Newton Mill.
9. COAL .. 0 14 Swinhoe Coal, at

Beadnell, Swinhoe,
_________ a o a Fleetham, and Broomford.
Grey sandstone... ... 4 3 4
Grey metal ...... 1 3 2
White sandstone ... 2 0 6
Blue metal ...... 6 0 0
M. Limestone ...... 1 0 0
COAL ...... 0 0 9
------------- 15 1 9
Grey metal ...... 4 0 0

'¦.»..«,
in rnil a i a Hetton,

ileetham, or Muckle Honyate
1U. OUML ...... O 1 O Coai,atBeadnell,

Swinhoe,Fleetham,
-------------4 16 Coalybars, Doxford, Hickley, Rugly,
Hetton, Ciiatton, Woodside, Fen-wick, and Doddington. Crops out in freestone

quarry at Alnwick Moor. Grey metal and sandstone 11 0 0 Alnwick

Moor Quarry.
Blue metal ...... 3 0 0
N. Limestone ... ... 2 3 0 Hobberlaw

Stone, at Beadnell, Swinhoe,
rriAi A A 4. Coldrife,

Hetton Coal House?, Low-
^ , , ••• ••• u " * ick,

Barmoor, Fassett. Woodside,
Beddy sandstone, With Chatton, Hobberlaw,

Rugly, Ford
metal partings ... 10 0 0 Moss, and Botany.
COAL ...... 0 0 10
Grey metal and dun sandstone ...... 8 0 8
O. White limestone ... 1 0 0 Dunstone, at North of Beadnell,

Fleet-Sandstone ...... 6 0 0 ham. Coldrife, and

Detchant.
COAL ...... 0 0 9
-------------41 5 7
Grey sandstone... ... 7 0 0
11. COAL . ... 0 2 0 Hobberlaw, ColdHde, or Fassett Coal,

n,.Q,r ™af*r w.aft.1 3 A A at Hetton Coal Houses,

Doddington, Ixrey posty metal ... 6 0 U Ford

Mosaj Fassetfci Scremerston,
Chatton, Hobberlaw, Allerdene, and .-_._.. ' „

Botany.
12. COAL ...... 0 2 6 At Hetton Coal Houses.
------------- 10 4 6
Carried forward 379 4 6
20 COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
Section or the Mountain Limestone.—Continued.
Reference. Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft. In.

Remarks.
Brought forward 379 4 6
Grey sandstone and metal
bands ......20 0 0
P. Yellow sandstone ... 19 0 0 At Reigham Quarry.
Limestone ...... 0 2 0
Grey sandstone and metals ...... 9 0 0
Ft. In.
COAL ... 0 10
Band stone ... 0 10
13. COAL...... 4 0
------- 0 5 6 Crow Coal, Scremerston Main Coal, or
Aa i « Blaclchill Seam, at Scremerston, Un-€,y x D thank Etalj

Ford MogSi T)etchant,
White metal ... ... 0 0 6 Eglingham,

Barmoor, Leamington,
Grey ribby sandstone ... 3 0 0 Chatton, Alnwick Moor, and

Banna-
14. COAL ' ...... 0 3 0 Stony or Hardy Coal,

at Etal.
---------— 3 3 6
Sandstones ......20 0 0 AtStonypeth.
Limestone .. ... 0 2 6
15. COAL ... ... 040 Main Coal, Cancer,

or Bulrnan Seam, at
_______ 21 0 fi Spital, Unthank, Shoreswood, Green-
_, ., _ n la

walls, Etal, Ford Moss. Barmoor,
Grey sandstone.....10 0 0 Doddington, Detchant, Eglingham,
COAL. 0 10 Leamington,

Debden, Chatton, Bot-
1 n 1 n any' flattery, and Bannamoor.
Grey sandstone and metal 3 0 0
Limestone ... ... 0 2 0
Metal ...... 10 0
Limestone ... ... 0 2 0
Grey sandstone and metals ..... 10 0 0
Limestone ... ... 0 1 6
16 COAL 0 2 6

Three-Quarter Coal, at Etal and Felk-
" ------------- 15 2 0 ington'
Bastard sandstone or
ironstone ... ... 0 3 0
Blue metal ...... 0 2 0
Limestone ... ... 0 1 6
17, COAL ...... 0 2 9 Cooper Eye Coal,

at Berwick Hill, Mor-
_________ 1 o o ton, Shoreswood, Greenlawalls, Etal,
, " I Ford Moss. Detchant, and Chatton.
Grey sandstone thill ... 2 0 0 Limestone ... ... 0 4 0
Metals and thin limestones ...... 7 0 0
Blue metals ...... 2 0 0
Ft. In. COAL ... 1 3
Band stone ... 1 6
18. COAL ... 2 0 Wester Coal

Seam, at Ford Moss and
n a. a Doddington. This is the lowest coal u * y

worked. -------------12 2 9
Grey thill stone ... 0 2 6
White sandstone ... 23 6
Pale blue metal ... 2 0 0
Sandstone ... ... 7 3 0
Beddy freestone and metal ......... 10 4 0
Sandstone ... ... 18 4 0
Beddy sandstone ... 9 2 0
Blue metal and iron
bands ...... 13 0 0
Carried forward 64 1 0 493 1 0
COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 21
Section of the Mountain Limestone.—Continued.
Reference. Fs. Ft. In. Fs. Ft. In.

Remarks. Brought forward 64 1 0 493 1 0 Metal and bands of

sandstone ...... 8 0 0
Sandstone ...... 7 0 0
Grey metal, with bands
4 inches to 12 inches
thick ......... 22 3 0
Pale blue metal, with
bands 4 inches to 24
inches thick ... ... 9 4 0
Sandstone bands, with
metal partings ... 10 2 0
Soft green metal ... 1 3 0 Beddy green sandstone ..730
Pale blue metal ... 20 3 0
Haid white metal ... 0 3 6
Very hard band stone ... 0 2 6
Hard bastard band stone 0 5 0
Hard iron bands ... 0 4 6
White metal ...... 0 2 6
White beddy sandstone 0 4 0
Pale blue metal ... 0 4 0
Hard flinty stone ... 0 5 0
Beds of hard sandstone 10 0
Sandstone ...... 0 2 0
Hard band beds ... 0 2 0
Pale blue metal ... 1 3 0 Hard sandstone bands,
with partings ... 1 2 9
Hard flinty stone ... 0 2 0 Hard bands, with metal
partings ... ... 1 3 0
Sandstone ...... 0 2 6
White metal ... ... 0 4 0
Hard bastard stone ... 0 110
Green metal ... ... 0 4 0
Hard bands, with soft
partings ... ... 0 3 0
Pale metal ...... 0 3 0
Sandstone bands ... 0 2 0
Pale blue metal ... 0 4 0
Beddy sandstone ... 3 1 0 Hard bastard bands 3
inches and 4 inches
thick ... ... 1 0 0
Pale metal ...... 12 0
Hard white stone ... 1 0 0
Hard band stone ... 1 5 8
Pale metal ...... 0 3 6
Hard stone ...... 0 2.6
Grey metal ...... 0 3 0
Hard sandstone ... 0 2 0 Hard iron or bastard
limestone bands ... 0 2 0
? Grey metal ... ... 1 5 0
Hard bands 3 inches and
4 inches thick ... 0 2 0
Grey metal stone ... 0 0 10
----------- 179 4 7
Total ...... 672 5 7
22 DISCUSSION—COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
Professor Lebour said, he would like to express his thanks, and he thought the thanks of

almost everyone connected with the coal-field, to Mr. Brown for the great trouble he had

taken in getting up his paper. Only those who had tried to correlate beds in limestone

measures over a large extent of country knew the very great trouble Mr. Brown must have

taken in that portion of his work. He (Professor Lebour) himself knew, from being so much

in that building, the amount of trouble Mr. Brown had taken in this matter, and the pains

he had taken to test the truth of the hypotheses he had brought before them. Never had a

correlation of this sort been done more carefully, and he thought it would rank in time

with the two other correlations which were the fathers of this kind of thing. One of these

was Mr. Buddie's, who was the first to throw any light on the arrangement of the coal-seams

in this district, and the second was Mr. Simpson's. It said a great deal for Mr. Buddie's

work that it was a work much of which stood good to this day. Mr. Simpson's work was of a

very much later date, and therefore much more perfect. In the Mountain Limestone in this

district the correlation was more difficult; the seams were not so constant as in the

Coal-Measures, and they split up a great deal more. Mr. Brown was right in saying that his

correlation of the Bernician series must be taken as a tentative one; but he (Professor

Lebour) thought, as a tentative one, it was bound to hold a very high rank indeed. Mr.

Brown, with his usual brevity, made a most important statement in two or three lines in his

paper; and as it was very likely the statement might be overlooked, he would specially

point it out. It was this, that " from a full consideration of the relative positions of

the coal-seams in the true measures, it appears possible that they should be considered as

portions of one and the same seam which was in continuous formation during a long period of

time." If this was true, then it was an absolutely new fact. He had known for some time

that Mr. Brown was inclined to think this was likely, and such data as Mr. Brown had had at

his disposal seemed to show it was probable as to some of the seams. If it were shown that

each seam was connected with those above and below, then it was a new fact which would

throw a great light upon the physical geography of the Carboniferous formation. This was a

most important matter, and it was a pity that Mr. Brown put it into three lines, and hid it

under a bushel in this manner. Other people might aid in throwing: a light upon it. He

moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Brown, and hoped Mr. Simpson would say something upon this

subject. No one was more capable than Mr. Simpson to criticise the details. He

(Professor Lebour) would himself like to say
DISCUSSION—COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 23
something of the details, but would defer his remarks until the next discussion.
Mr. J. B. Simpson seconded the vote of thanks to Mr. Brown, and said the subject which he

had brought before them was a most interesting one. He agreed with Professor Leboar that,

to come to a correct conclusion on so difficult a subject as the correlation of seams,

involved great labour. The more papers they could get on the subject the more able should

they be to come to a conclusion on the extended continuity of the seams. He would have

liked if Mr. Brown could in the latter synopsis have stated the thickness of the strata, in

some form or other, in the different districts. This would add much interest, even if it

could be done only approximately. He did not feel competent at present to go into the

details in Mr. Brown's paper, but hoped, when the paper came up for discussion, that he

might be able to criticise and approve some of Mr. Brown's propositions.
Professor Merivale said he would suggest that before the paper came up for discussion, Mr.

Brown might be able to add to Coanwood, Plainmeller, and Stublick, particulars of that most

interesting little coalfield, Midgeholme. He, perhaps, could give Mr. Brown some

information that would enable him to correlate the seams at that place. In the paper, Mr.

Brown mentioned various eminent authorities as to the duration of the coal-field. There was

one authority, however, perhaps the earliest one, whom he had not mentioned, and that was

Sir Ceorge Selby, who, in 1610, announced in Parliament that the Newcastle coal-field would

not last for 21 years.
The Chairman said that, if he mistook not, there was a later authority on the duration of

coal than Mr. Brown had mentioned, and that was Sir William Armstrong, when president of

the British Association meeting at Newcastle in 1863.
Mr. Simpson : Professor Jevons was later still.
Professor Lebour : Mr. Greenwell is a later authority than either Sir Wm. Armstrong or

Professor Jevons.
The Chairman : Sir William Armstrong's statement as to the duration of the coal, made when

the British Association met in Newcastle, created a great sensation all over the country.

He suggested that Mr. Brown should add to his paper the estimates of Sir Wm. Armstrong and

the late Professor Jevons ; and he would further suggest that he should give the year in

which each estimate was made. He was quite recently astonished in London by a friend saying

to him that in fifty years' time the whole of the coal-fields of Northumberland and Durham

would be
24 DISCUSSION—COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
exhausted; and that any person contemplating buying property on the Tyne should very

seriously consider how it would be affected by this exhaustion of the coal. The gentlemen

present at this meeting knew a great deal more about the duration of coal than he did, and

he would leave this part of the subject in their hands; but he must say that he did not

think such a thing as his friend in London predicted was likely to happen, or that

capitalists need be afraid of investing their money in such property, for they ought to get

a good return long before the coal was exhausted. He was not sufficiently acquainted with

the Scremerston coal-field to speak authoritatively, but it struck him that the 73 feet

mentioned in the paper was a great thickness of coal, and there might be a mistake. With

respect to what Professor Lebour had specially called attention to, as to the coal seams in

the true measures being perhaps portions of one and the same seams, this was a matter which

should be left over for discussion at another meeting. He could endorse what had been said

by Professor Lebour and Mr. Simpson as to the great labours which Mr. Brown had undertaken,

and of the paper that had been the issue. He knew from experience there was very great

difficulty indeed in tracing out the different beds in various districts where they

occurred.
The vote of thanks was unanimously agreed to.
Mr. Walton Brown returned thanks. He trusted that, on analysis, his paper would be found to

be fairly correct. The estimates of Sir William Armstrong, Professor Jevons, and Mr. G. C.

Greenwell, related to the coal-fields of the United Kingdom, whereas his estimates referred

only to the duration of the coal of the carboniferous formation of the counties of

Northumberland and Durham. With respect to the 73 feet at Scremerston he thought himself

that it was incorrect when he stated it, and on subsequent investigation he had found it to

be 53 feet.
Mr. Steavenson said, he was not at all so sanguine as Mr. Brown and others appeared to be

with respect to the coal included in the return being worked. Long before the thin seams

were available foreign competition would cut the North-country coal out of the market. Mr.

Brown, in the synopsis, spoke of the Brockwell extending all the way from Monk-wearmouth to

Bishop Auckland. He (Mr. Steavenson) thought this was a mistake ; his impression was that

the Brockwell seam had not been seen, or been found or proved, in any pit east of Durham.

He tried for it many times in the neighbourhood of Coxhoe. He would like some one to give

them particulars of what had been recently learned on the subject of the southern boundary.

He fancied that in late years there had been a great deal ascertained that was formerly

unknown, for there had been shafts sunk which had been found to be useless.
DISCUSSION—COAL SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF^ENGLAND, ETC. 25
The Chairman said that in the synopsis there was a heading " Durham." Durham was rather an

indefinite term; it was both a county and a city.
Mr. Walton Brown said he meant the county/
The Chairman suggested that Mr. Brown should mention the district and not the county.
A paper by Mr. John Allan, on " The Pyrites Deposits of the Province of Huelva," was read

as follows :—
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
By JOHN ALLAN.
The ever-increasing production of copper in this locality, in spite of low prices, has

brought it prominently before the eyes of the financial world. The writer trusts that a few

remarks about the mines, though given inadequately, may prove of some interest to the

members of the Institute.
SITUATION AND GENERAL REMARKS.
The province of Huelva is situated in the south-west of Spain, is separated from Portugal

by the river Guadiana, and is bounded south by the Atlantic. Huelva, the capital, lies at

the confluence of the rivers Odiel and Tinto, about three miles from the mouth of the

river, and forms the centre for railroads and shipping. The bar is passable at high water

to ships of heavy tonnage, and the river is navigable as fur as the piers built by the Rio

Tinto and Tharsis companies for the shipment of their minerals.
Public railways connect the town with Seville and Zafra, whilst mining companies have

constructed narrow gauge lines to Tharsis, Buitron, and Rio Tinto, the Tharsis and Buitron

being open to the public.
The climate is mild in winter : in summer the thermometer ranges from 95 to 110 degs. F.

Dry for the greater part of the year, heavy rains fall in early winter and spring, swelling

rivers and watercourses, mostly dry in summer, into foaming torrents.
The country is mountainous. After ten or fifteen miles of flat and fertile ground near the

sea coast, it rises in a series of hills to the foot of the Sierra Morena. These hills,

almost denuded of soil, are thickly covered with brushwood, locally termed " sara," with

here and there a sparse plantation of Spanish oak, the acorns of which during the season

maintain numerous herds of swine.
Fuel, Labour, Material.—The people of the country are frugal, easily controlled, and as a

rule very good workmen. The wages paid are as follows :—
28 THE PYEITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
s. d.
Miner, 8 hours shift on contract ......... 3 4
„ 12 „ day's work ......... 2 11
Labourer on surface, per day ...... ... 2 1
Boys and girls „ ,, ... ... ... 13
An average workman will easily pick up any special work, such as plate-laying, and

timbering, but requires supervision.
The nearest coal-fields being in the vicinity of Cordova, all coal has to be imported, and

costs roughly 25s. per ton at the mines which have their own piers and railroads. Mines not

in direct communication with the sea have to pay for transport on mules' backs, at the rate

of 7d. to Is. per mile per ton.
Timber is scarce; the native pine is, however, excellent for timbering purposes, the cost

of round logs is roughly 34s. per cubic yard. Baltic pine costs roughly 46s. per cubic yard

in square logs.
Mining Concessions, Customs, etc.—The Spanish Government offers every facility for mining

enterprise. The subsoil belongs to the nation ; any person or company, whether foreign or

Spanish, can register a claim or " Denuncio" at the Government Mining Office, situated in

the capital of each province. After the lapse of time prescribed by law, the engineer

deputed by Government lays off the claim on the ground, and after payment of dues the title

deeds are delivered. The denouncer of "claim" thus becomes possessed of all mineral wealth,

and has a right to start workings, expropriating the surface owner should he refuse to sell

his ground at a fair price. Starting workings is not necessary, and the owner can allow his

concession to remain unworked any length of time. The smallest claim laid off is a square

of 110 yards square, or about 12,000 square yards. Should several of these not contiguous

enclose a free space on which a square of the above-named dimensions cannot be marked off,

the space, or " Demacia," becomes the property, free of charge, of any owner of

circumscribing claims who may petition for it to the Government office.
The charges are very slight, two dollars per annum for a " pertenencia" of about 12,000

square yards, and a small original cost for marking off.
Mining companies, or private owners, in other respects, pay the same taxes as ordinary

proprietors ; on the ore extracted, however, there is a tax of 1 per cent.
The customs duties are heavy—coal, 3s. l^d. per ton; iron, 15s. per ton ; and it is of

advantage to use the products of native industry.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 29
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.
The pyrites deposits occur in a zone of clay slate, which traverses the province from east

to west, beginning with the deposit at Asnalcollar, in the province of Seville, and ending

with Aljustrel and Grandola in Portugal.
These slates running W. 30 degs. N., with a dip of 70 degs. to 80 degs. N., vary in colour,

hardness, and composition. They are often traversed in every direction by small veins of

quartz, evidently of a later formation. A difference of opinion arises as to the relative

age of the formation ; it is indicated in the geological maps of " Maestra" and " De

Verneuil" as Silurian.* Roemer describes it as belonging to a low horizon of the " Culm"

measures, Phillips,f as apparently, of Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous age.
Fossils are of rare occurrence, and it would perhaps be rash to form an opinion until the

ground has been more carefully studied.
The deposits occur parallel to the stratification of the slate, and are generally bounded

north by porphyry.
This happens so frequently that a connection has been suggested between the two. The lodes,

if such they can be called, are lenticular in shape, 110 to 330 yards in length. They vary

in width from a few feet to 150 yards. Some dip north, at about the same angle as the

slate, with parallel walls; these have never been tried in depth, continuing below the

deepest workings ; others vary considerably in width on lower or upper levels, the north

wall advancing or receding ; others again take the form of a boat, and are entirely cut off

below. The ore is composed of iron pyrites, intimately mixed with copper pyrites. It is, as

a rule, finely crystalline, and in this state is divided in a series of joints, at right

angles to the stratification of the slate, and to a lesser degree parallel to it. The

structure, colour, density, and lustre also vary. Its colour is a silvery white, with

metallic lustre, when hard and poor; and dark green, granular, and earthy, when soft and.

rich. Its density varies from 3 to 4-85. The percentage in copper varies considerably, and

although about 3 per cent, is the average, some parts contain 1 per cent, and under, whilst

others vary from 3, 5 to 8 and 10 per cent.
Some deposits are traversed, though to a very subordinate extent, by strings of copper

pyrites, grey copper, iahlerz, galena, and quartz. These ores occur in the joints of

cleavage, as a rule, but attain neither width nor depth. Quartz, however, forms part of

the structure, and is found
* Zeitschrift der Geolog. Gesselschaft, 1876, p. 354. f Phillips on Ore Deposits, p. 15.
30 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OP THE PROVINCE OF HUEEVA.
up to 10 and 12 per cent. Many other metals occur intimately admixed, such as gold, silver

(15 to 30 dwt. per ton), lead, zinc, bismuth, nickel, antimony, and copper, but merely as

traces. Seen from a distance, these deposits present a striking appearance, from their

outcrops, of ironstone, produced by the decomposition of the upper portions of the mass.

This gossan covers the deposit with varying thickness, the harder portions forming a series

of ridges, whilst the softer have been removed through denudation. The part immediately

above the mineral is soft and crumbling, and the contact marked only by 1 or 2 inches of

soft decomposed mineral. The composition of this ironstone varies considerably, but the

following analysis may be taken as an example :—
Water............ ......... 6"06
Copper..................... traces
Iron ..................... 53-06
Sulphur..................... 1'40
Oxygen ... ... ••• ••• ••• ¦•• 22'74
Silicon..................... 1674
100-00
Deposits of iron ore, posterior to the actual formation, can be seen in the vicinity of

every mine. The iron salts resulting from the original decomposition of the pyrites, have

formed beds of iron ore, which through denudation are left covering the slate. An excellent

example of this is the Mesa de las Pinas, in the vicinity of the south lode, at the Rio

Tinto mines, where a variety of imprints of leaves, belonging to trees still growing in the

neighbourhood, have been found. This class of ore is easily identified, being stratified,

and containing fragments of quartz, slate, etc. It has at various times been mistaken for

the outcrop of a lode, and workings actually started.
Deposits.—A complete description of the numerous deposits would entail giving an idea of

the mineral resources of the various companies; as this is neither advisable, nor within

the limits of this paper, the author will confine himself to mentioning the names of

deposits, roughly classified according to their size, with a few brief remarks on those

which offer any striking features from a geological point of view.
1.— Rio Tinto, Tharsis, Calanas, *Santo Domingo.
2.—Cueva de la Mora, Lagunazo, Castillo de las Guardas, Sotiel Coronada, *Aljustrel.
3.—Poderosa, Concepion, Carpio, SanTelmo, San Miguel, Asnalcollar,* Grandola, El Tinto,

Buitron, Peiia de Hierro, Consessionarios (iron pyrites).
* In Portugal.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OP THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 31
4.—Vuelta Falsa, Vulcano, Monte Rubio, Aguas Tenidas Romanera, Lomero, Chapparita, Barranco

de los Bueyes.
Besides these mines there are a quantity of others some of which may be of importance.

Soya, Cabezas del Pasto, Herrerias, Sierra de los Veneres, Sierra Yicaria, Ternancia,

Ohanza Trimpacho, Carmen, Manolito, Mosquitos, Angostura, Tomas, San Nicolas, Santa Flora

Campanario.
Rio Tinto, the most important, is composed, according to some plans, of the South Lode, and

its continuation the San Dionisio Lode, the Middle Lode, and the North Lode.
The South Lode dips slightly south, and its South Wall is composed of slate. These slates

are dark and talcose in the part of the lode on which the opencast is situated, further

west yellowish white, and decomposed by the acid salts, resulting from the decomposition of

the pyrites. The North Wall formed of porphyry, bulges in and out, the lode attaining,

immense width in some places, and narrowing to a thin vein for a short distance, before

reaching San Dionisio.
The porphyry immediately in contact with the lode is decomposed and soft, especially in the

opencast veins.
Continuing north after passing a dyke of porphyry, what may be called the Centre Lode is

reached.
Its South Wall dips north, and is composed for 33 to 50 feet thick of a soft, friable,

granular quartz, containing two to three per cent, of copper, and generally very rich when

it touches the mineral. This quartz gets gradually harder and smoother to the touch on

nearing the porphyry; for this reason it has been suggested that it is the result of the

decomposition of the porphyry, as veins of hard crystalline quartz, cutting through the

decomposed ground, and continuing into the hard porphyry, have been met with. The North

Wall dips south, and is formed of hard quartz porphyry. There is no distinct joint between

the mineral and porphyry, the latter being for many yards partly metallised, with veins and

impregnations of iron and copper pyrites.
Continuing north, through a band of quartz and porphyry, bearing strings and specks of

pyrites, the North Lode appears. This lode has so to speak, no distinct walls, and

consequently no inclination, being bounded north and south by a band of impregnations, and

gradually going into porphyry.
It is, however, impossible to lay a fixed rule, as the various deposits exhibit different

shapes and structures in various places.
It may be interesting to note, that the joints in the mineral, well defined in the South

Lode, on contact with the slate become less so in the Centre Lode, and are scarcely ever

seen in the North Lode.
32 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PEOVINCE OF HUELVA.
The direction of joints in the Centre Lode is confused ; in one part the ground is much cut

up, and lumps of ore the size of a fist are found, polished through pressure, in four or

five directions.
The Tharsis Mines next in importance to the Rio Tinto, are composed of the North Lode and

its continuation, the Sierra Bullones, and Poca Pringue, the Centre Lode, the South Lode

and its continuation, the Esperanza schist deposit.
The deposits can be taken as typical of the usual formation.
The North Lode, the most important, dips north with about the same inclination as the

slate, both walls running parallel, and formed of black slate, porphyry being within a

short distance of the North Wall. The slates and porphyries in the vicinity of the lode are

decomposed in some places, but offer no peculiarity. The system of joints is highly

developed, both in the direction and across the lode. The other deposits have the same dip

and general features.
The Galanus Mine, next in importance, is also the property of the Tharsis Company. The lode

can be traced for a long distance and attains great width in one place. The walls are

parallel, and dip north, with the same inclination as the slate, the south wall being

composed of slate, and the north in some places of impregnations, the wall being, however,

clearly defined.
The San Miguel Mine, can be taken as an example of a lode dipping slightly south, with

slate south and porphyry north, as is the Poyatos Mine an example of a boat-shaped deposit.
MINING.
History and Ancient WorJcint/s.—These mines were known to the ancients as far back as 1,000

B.C. Phoenicians and Carthagenians possessed trading establishments on the coast and worked

the mines to a certain extent. The workings nearer the surface can probably be ascribed to

them, as also a part of the slag found in large quantities in the vicinity of every mine.

The Romans leave more unmistakable traces of their workings. Pliny, in the year 79,

describes the mines as giving employment to 20,000 slaves; and the course of their

occupation can be traced by coins bearing the stamp of various emperors until the year 412.

Every mine in the province has been more or less worked by them, as shown by Shafto, there

being adit levels at great length, depressions formed by cavins in of workings, and

deposits of slag, variously estimated at from 10 to 20 millions of tons.
The great centres of Roman industry, however, were at the Tharsis and Rio Tinto mines.

Remains of houses and tombs are met with in
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 33
great profusion, in which delicate glass articles, ornaments, surgical instruments,

weights, and lamps are found daily. The mining works are on a gigantic scale, considering

the means at their disposal, adits at various levels are still open, and large cavities are

found at the lowest depths of modern workings. The largest workings are met with near the

walls of the lodes, where the mineral is richest and easiest to work. Regular stopes, well

timbered with oak, can still be seen, and at Rio Tinto in soft quartz, large areas have

been worked longwall, extracting the strings of rich sulphides, the cavities being packed

with the refuse. The administration and methods of mining and smelting must have, however,

undergone many changes and improvements during the long period of the Roman occupation.
As regards mining, undoubtedly the first step was the driving of an adit; if this was

successful in striking the mineral, galleries were driven in all directions skirting the

lode in search of a soft working face. Numerous shafts were sunk, mostly in pairs, for the

purpose of extraction, development, and ventilation; and as the extraction continued, more

adits were driven, or the waters raised by means of a series of bucket water wheels, or

other appliances, specimens of which have been found in most mines.
Not much is known about the metallurgical treatment. From the few remains of furnaces in

existence, one side appears to be formed by excavation in the solid rock, with a

semicircular wall about 7 feet in height built in front of it, leaving thus a circular

section 2| feet diameter, with openings below for outflow of slag and admission of blast.
The slags, though varying in composition according to locality, contain only traces of

copper. The following analysis may be taken as a fair average:—
Water ..................... 0-83
Copper..................... 0'04
Iron ..................... 55-09
Aluminium ... ... ... ... ... ... '93
Oxygen ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15'83
Silicon ..................... 27-13
Magnesium and sulphur ... ... ... ... traces
99-85
At the Rio Tmto mines, a kind of speiss, locally termed "metal blanquillo," is found in

large quantities; it contains roughly :—
VOL. XXXVII.-1887.
34 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
Copper..................... 2'3
Iron ..................... 0-50
Lead ..................traces 016
Antimony .................. 3-10
Arsenic..................... 20*25
Sulphur..................... 2-3
Silver ... ...............traces "03
Matte and refined copper are seldom found, though there are plenty of manufactured

articles.
It is impossible to underrate the vast importance these works are to those engaged in

modern mining, as a mine bearing no trace of Roman enterprise can, as a rule, be put down

as worthless. Some years ago a large deposit was discovered, bearing every indication of

being similar to those existing, the only objection that could be raised was that the Roman

slag and workings bore the appearance of being investigatory and not extensive. The

subsequent trials proved the deposit to be one of iron pyrites, containing no copper. Old

workings may also prove a source of insecurity, if not danger, and in a great many cases

may either upset arrangements or forward them.
The Romans seem to have left suddenly, probably at the alarm of the Gothic invasion. During

a long lapse of time the mines were deserted, and bear no trace of other workings. In 1725

some works were started at the Rio Tinto mines, and also in 1840, when extraction of copper

by the wet way was introduced. About this time the Concepcion, El Tinto, Ohapparita, and

San Miguel mines were worked. In 1853, Mr. Deligny, a French engineer, discovered and laid

claims to the Tharsis, Calanas, Santo Domingo, Poyatos, and Curva de la Mora mines, and

started investigatory works on some of them. It was not, however, till 1858 that a company

was started, and 1866 that the present Tharsis Sulphur and Copper Company was formed. In

1873, the Rio Tinto Company bought their mines from the Government, in whose possession

they had been since 1840. Almost every mine in the province was more or less worked about

that time, though now, owing to the depression in the copper market, only large mines are

able to work at a profit.
Modern Mining.—The systems of mining generally adopted have been invariably either by

opencast, or by what has been termed pillar and stall. The former has been used, or,

rather, misused, in every imaginable way. At the San Mionel Mines a hole without an exit

was made, the overburden being taken up zig-zag paths on mules and donkeys, and the mineral

actually laid bare at 130 feet from surface. At the El Tinto
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUEI/VA. 35
Mines, large quantities of sterile were removed to lay bare a small vein a few yards thick.

An opencast was also made at the Buitron, the mineral uncovered, but through want of

previous underground investigations a comparatively small amount of ore was extracted,

owing to its hardness, a few yards from surface. It would be useless to bring forward any

more examples of the badly-planned haste which the early miners of these deposits

displayed, wasting large sums of money for little visible result.
If the opencasts were badly planned, the underground workings fully corresponded. Workings

which, from a primary condition, ought to be regular in order to let pillars correspond on

one floor and another, were allowed, through want of ordinary precautions, to lose levels

and directions. The result was, in many cases, a fine mass of mineral in a ruinous

condition, riddled with galleries, impossible for future workings except by an opencast,

and even then at a distinct disadvantage, as the cost of removing the overburden has to be

borne by two-thirds of the mineral, one-third approximately being extracted by previous

workings.
With the larger companies, however, all the most modern appliances came into play; the

gigantic opencasts of Rio Tinto and Tharsis were planned and executed, and enormous

quantities of pyrites were investigated and laid bare.
Pillar and Stall.—This method consists of working the lode in floors. Galleries of

different sections, according to the distance between floors, are driven parallel to each

other and afterwards cross-cut at stated distances, leaving thus a series of superposed

pillars bound together at each floor by a roof of more or less thickness. Should the

extraction of ore be carried on by means of cages or skips, the mineral on each floor is

simply taken to the engine-shaft by the quickest way, in hutches, on narrow gauge lines. In

the event of a tunnel at lower levels, shoots, for dropping the ore, consisting of

perpendicular or inclined winzes, are cut at convenient distances according to requirement.

The laying out of workings, in order to take advantage of the joints in mineral, natural

ventilation, etc., vary according to local circumstances. In most mines the Roman adit was

cleaned out and widened, or a new one cut, unwatering the lode at a given level. After

cross-cutting the mass and sinking one or two shafts from surface for ventilation,

galleries termed "reales" were driven parallel with the lode and each other, and floors

started as convenient.
The various galleries or driving ends are generally let out on contract to gangs of four or

six men, who, amongst themselves, choose their foreman, all, however, having equal rights

and dividing the profits equally-They are, as a rule, paid by the ton, have to provide

their own explosives,
36 THE PYEITES DEPOSITS OP THE PROVINCE OP HUELVA.
and pay for the sharpening and repairs of their tools. In ends which require timbering, or

are of special importance, a single contractor employing twelve or fourteen men is

sometimes employed, for the better supervision of the work.
Working ends at different sections have been tried. No fixed rule can be laid down, as

conditions vary; but, in average pyrites, with the following result:—Ends about 13 feet

square were found to be a convenient size in ordinary ground. The section per lineal metre

gives roughly 63 tons. An average price paid is—
a. d.
Labour ............ 1 10
Explosives ............ 6£
Repairs—tools ...... .... 0£
Total......... 2 5 per ton.
The face is generally attacked by a small end driven in the back of the level, leaving a

bench about 8 feet high, which is afterwards stoped down, 16| by 20 feet and 20 feet square

galleries have also been tried, and were driven in the same way as the 13 feet square ones,

with a small level in advance. The section in one case yields 106 tons, and in the other

122 tons, per lineal yard of gallery ; the cost was found to be about 2s. per ton. These

workings have the disadvantage of offering too large a section, and, on jointy or soft

ground presenting itself, become unsafe. A better method is driving 13 feet square

galleries, which, being of a convenient size, can be reduced in dimensions, at the

slightest change of ground. Should the sides and roof stand well, they can be widened out

to 16| by 20 feet, or 20 feet square, at an average price of Is. 3d. per ton, thus reducing

the cost of the whole gallery to about 2s. per ton. 6£ feet square workings have been

driven, but generally for investigation and for the sake of rapidity. The cost of winning

ore, from such a confined section, generally rises to double the cost per ton in a 13 feet

square end. The original expense is, however, compensated when the gallery is afterwards

widened out.
With the exception of very few deposits, every mine in the province has been more or less

worked by the pillar and stall method, as it was found to be the quickest and, temporarily,

the cheapest way of extracting mineral.
OPENCAST WORKINGS.
Working by opencast consists in removing the overburden from the surface of the mineral,

and working the lode as an open quarry.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 37
Removal of Overburden.—This is done in successive lifts (Plate II., Fig. 1) varying in

height from 26 to 40 feet. Bailways are laid according to the configuration of the ground,

for the removal of the debris in wagons and their transport to a convenient tipping place.

The mode of attack depends on the stratification and hardness of the ground to be removed.

The removal of ground, to which no level lines can be laid—the cost of a cutting becoming

too great—is carried on : 1st, by means of a vertical shaft or inclined plane to level

outlet; 2nd, through a tunnel; 3rd, tipped down spouts to a tunnel driven into the lode at

a lower level. As each bench approaches completion, it becomes necessary to settle the

distance between the foot of one bench and top of the other. This varies considerably ; in

porphyry, 10 or 15 degrees off the plane is considered sufficient, with a distance of 13 or

16£ feet; in slate, its natural dip or more ; and in soft ground as much as 45 degrees.

Generally the benches are only pushed far enough to discover mineral for one or two years'

anticipated output, and afterwards keep pace with the winning of ore.
Winning of Ore.—The mineral once uncovered, benches are laid off similar to those for the

removal of overburden. The work is commenced by a long cutting laid off parallel to the

most pronounced system of joints, this is pushed on until sufficient space is left for

another cutting below, and so on. The distance usually left between one floor and another

is about 33 feet, but varies. The removal of the mineral to surface is carried on by the

same means as the removal of the lower floors of the overburden, generally the same plan

serves for both.
General Remarks.—The laying off of works of this kind depends entirely on local

circumstances, and requires an intimate knowledge of the shape, depth, and richness of

lode, so as to find out at first the amount of overburden that has to be paid for by each

ton of ore made available by the uncoverings, and whether this is done at a profit. When

once this is decided there remains to be seen in which way the removal of the part

immediately above the lode, for which there is no level outlet, is to be carried on.
The construction of a tunnel of more or less length, entirely for the removal of

overburden, may offer advantages in some cases, and it is a matter of calculation whether

the original cost of tunnel and traction through it is cheaper than winding the same

amount, either on an inclined plane or a vertical shaft, which can afterwards be used for

hoisting mineral. Undoubtedly the most efficient arrangement is fixing on a
38 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OP THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
method which can be utilised both for the removal of the overburden and minerals. Of the

systems mentioned above, each one has its advantages.
Using a vertical shaft, with no other outlet, underground waters have to be raised, thus

forming an item of expense, although the water usually met is easily coped with. The cost

of raising one ton 100 yards may be roughly estimated at 3jd.; add to this 3d. for tipping

at pit mouth— total 3^d. Once raised, the ore may require classification, and means of

traction to its destination.
A tunnel has the advantage that the ore, if necessary, can be classified on the spot before

loading and taken to its destination at once. In many cases a Roman adit can be cleaned out

and widened, thus cheapening the cost.
Lastly, if a tunnel is driven at a low level, say at the proposed limit of extraction by

opencast, dropping the ore, or previously the overburden, down shoots is a great advantage,

as filling into wagons at the shoot mouth scarcely costs one halfpenny per ton. The cost,

however, of raising winzes from tunnel is heavy and not always practicable, though in some

cases the ore won counterbalances this. After these primary conditions have been settled,

the plan of attacking the upper floors, in order to have the working face parallel to the

stratification of the rock, and get as large a working face as possible, becomes of great

importance. This depends on local circumstances, as also does the possibility of laying off

gradients in favour of the loaded train. Locomotive and mule traction have been used, and

in the case of the tip being near, the full train was sent there by gravitation, the

empties being taken back by a locomotive or a team of mules.
The organisation of the men employed has also varied. In order to prevent the men being

idle whilst the train was unloaded, a double line was laid along the working face, and one

train loaded whilst the other was being emptied. This, however, necessitates the stuff

being carried, as it cannot be shovelled direct to the off line, and is consequently more

expensive.
Cost of loading with spade ... 2£d. per cu. m. l'9d. per cut yard.
„ on trays ... ... 4d. „ 3d. „

„
Difference ... lid. „ l'ld. „ „
Loading with the spade increases the expense of plate-laying, as the line has to be

continually shifted.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 39
The usual arrangement is to provide two working faces not far distant, and load alternately

at each face.
Steam navvies have been used; the cost compares most favourably with hand labour in soft

irony ground, but in slate offers no advantage. The cost for loading, boring, and blasting

in mineral varies considerably, and is carried on in the same way as in the sterile

benches. The average cost might be put down roughly:—
Boring and explosives ... ... ... 4d. to 8d. per ton.
Loading ... ... ... ... ... 2£d. „
The following are the names of the mines which are, or have been, partly worked by

opencast:—
Rio Tinto.—Part of South Lode.
Tharsis.—Xorth Lode, Centre Lode, Sierra Bulloms, Esperanza.
Calernas.—Part of Lode.
Cueva de la Mora, Lasunuzo, Poderosa, Concepcion La Torya, El Tinto, San Miguel, Buitron,

San Telmo, Payatus, Lomero, Ohapparita, Vulcano Pefia de Hierro.
These works exhibit the greatest variety of execution and offer striking examples of

success and failure. The opencast recently made at Caluiias can, perhaps, be taken as an

example of careful planning and economical execution.
CLASSIFICATION OF ORE.
The varied nature and copper contents of the ore render a classification necessary in mines

which have their own railroads. Considering the low prices of sulphur and copper, it does

not pay to export ore under about 3 per cent., the remainder of the ore, representing about

66 per cent, of the total, has to be treated on the spot. Accordingly, two separations are

made, export ore and ore for local treatment, the latter being again subdivided according

to the method of treatment adopted. The export ore, containing about:—
Copper ..................... 3 per cent.
Sulphur ..................... 48 „
Iron........................ 45 „
Silver, zinc, bismuth, lead, nickel, antimony, silicon .. 4 „
100
40 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
is shipped direct to various parts of Europe. The ore for local treatment, containing,

roughly :—
Copper ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 per cent.
Iron .................. 38 „
Sulphur.................. 48
Arsenic, lead, zinc, and silicon ... ... 12 ,,
100
undergoes a rough process, known as the Rio Linto cementation process, introduced in 1840

by Bon Felipe Pinto. This system is imperfect, as it only aims at the extraction of copper,

85 to 90 per cent, of which is extracted in two or three years. It consists in :—
1.—Calcining the ore in open heaps or tips, to convert the sulphide
of copper into sulphate. 2.—In washing the ore thus calcined to dissolve the sulphate of
copper. 3.—In decomposing with metallic iron the solution of sulphate of copper, and

producing a precipitate of metallic copper. The mode of selection at Eio Linto and Tharsis

differs considerably. The Tharsis having works of their own in England, consume their own

pyrites. The Rio Tinto Company mostly export to consumers, and have to undergo

regulations as to the percentage of silica, dust, etc. They have also erected large

blast-furnaces at their mines for the treatment of rich ores and quartz. This

necessitates a careful classing and is mostly done by hand.
In mines not connected with railways all the ore undergoes local treatment, and is only

classed according to size. In some cases the roughs are divided from the smalls by passing

over screens about 1 inch clearance between bars, smalls and dust falling through to one

wagon and the roughs passing on to another. Often this is dispensed with and done roughly

by hand when the ore is being built in heaps for calcination.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The facility of winning ore in an opencast, compensates generally for the charge of the

removal of the overburden, and compares favourably with the winning of ore from confined

galleries by the pillar and stall method. By the former, there is a feasible and complete

extraction of the ore, by the latter an incomplete and wasteful system, the only advantage

of which is, that less capital is needed to start with, and that the ore can be extracted

at once.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HTTELVA. 41
Once the lode worked by pillar and stall, and about one-third of the ore extracted, the

rest being left in pillars and roof, the problem arises, how to move the remainder. In the

case of irregular workings this is almost impossible, in regular workings most dangerous

and costly, as the ground covering the lode is in most cases composed of loose ironstone,

clay, and boulders, which cannot stand without support, and which gather weight at the

slightest filtration of surface waters. Filling up the cavity as pillars are removed has

been tried but is costly, and alternate pillars and roofs have to be left to avoid a

general crush.
By using care and working downwards, leaving safe ground behind the men, a good deal of ore

can be won by stripping down workings to a size consistent with immediate safety, removing,

perhaps between the first and ultimate workings, half of the whole mass.
Generally, an opencast is the solution of the following figures, taken from an ideal cross

section :—Plate II., Fig. 1, through the line A B on longitudinal section, Plate III., Fig.

3, showing with what result.
Taking the section for a distance of 1*1 yards, leaving benches of 45 degrees in slate, and

GO degrees in porphyry and mineral, with slate on the South Wall and porphyry on the North,

8,528 cubic yards of slate and ironstone, and 5,689 cubic yards of porphyry have to be

removed to uncover 5,428 cubic yards of mineral, or allowing 3*43 tons per cubic yard,

18,618 tons. Estimating the cost of removal of porphyry at 2s. 3d. per cubic yard, and

slate and gossan at Is. l^d., the overburden account comes out at about Is. 0£d. per ton.

Should the lode have been worked previously by pillar and stall, as shown on cross section,

Fig. 2, Plate II., by 5| feet by 6| feet workings and 4| feet roofs on a distance of 1*1

feet, namely, about \ a yard on pillar section, and ^ a yard on cross-cut section, it gives

2,043 cubic yards of ore extracted from a total of 5,240, or rather over a third.

Estimating, however, the mineral extracted as a third of the whole, the overburden has to

be paid by 12,450 tons, and the overburden account comes out at Is. 6|d., or 6|d. dearer.
These figures distinctly prove the disadvantage of the system as regards pillar and stall

workings, and a plan for removing all the ore when an opencast becomes too expensive is

urgently needed.
As far back as 1860, the Government engineers, especially Don Felia Astiroz, spoke in

favour of working the lodes partly by opencast where the least overburden had to be

removed, and removing all the ore from the remaining part, packing the cavity with the

sterile obtained from the opencast. This plan is advantageous at first sight, as the double

advantage is obtained of removing a portion of the lode and thus obtaining
VOL. XXXVII. -1887.

E
42 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OP THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA.
sterile for filling in the underground workings, which, otherwise would have to be quarried

for that purpose.
This system was, however, never put into execution; difficulties occurred as to the method

to be employed for working aud filling in, and it is not until lately that this plan has

been adopted for the working of a lode at the Tharsis mines.
The writer trusts that a few words on a [system of mining, which he thinks would be

feasible, cheap, and effective, would not be out of place.
PROPOSED METHOD.
Taking an ideal lode, Fig. 4 in plan, Fig. 3 in section (see Plate III.), 87 yards wide,

with parallel walls dipping north, having shallow overburden east of line A B and heavier

west. The part west of A, B, would be advantageously worked by opencast, and east by

underground workings, according to a new system.
This method consists in working with inclined stopes about 4 feet wide, either across the

lode or longitudinally, as shown on sections, Fig. 3, Plate III., and Fig. 5, Plate IV.,

and filling in with sterile from the opencast workings, in measure as the stopes advance.

Working is started on the 54 yards level by a 4^- yards by 4^ yards gallery a, a, a, Fig.

4, in communication either with an adit or an engine shaft, as shown at b. Near the surface

of the mineral, the corresponding level is driven in direct communication with shafts a',

a', leaving a slight roof of mineral. From this level an inclined winze, b', b', Fig. 3, 3£

yards wide is sunk, following the dip of the lode to the 54 yards level.
The actual working then commences by stripping down the back of winze about a yard at a

time, as at x, x, Plate IV., Fig. 6, and tipping sterile in measure as the stope advances,

building a rough stone wall against the exposed face of mineral until the stope assumes the

angle shown at c', cf, and, later on, df, d!, Plate III., Fig. 3, the slope to be

determined by the angle formed by tipping. The sterile is loaded in end-tip wagons at

shafts a', a', which are partly used as shoots for tipping sterile from opencast, and

partly for ventilation, being divided into two compartments for this purpose. The

wagons are taken by the nearest way to the tip.
The ore after blasting rolls down the stope and is loaded into wagons at e', Plate III.,

Fig. 3, and taken through gallery a, a, a, Fig. 4, to engine shaft or adit. The work of

filling and winning ore has to be kept distinct, and for this purpose the time*can be

divided proportionately, allowing a certain time for boring, blasting, and loading of ore,

this work being stopped during the tipping of sterile.
THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OF HUELVA. 43
General Remarks.—It is thought that this mode of working is perfectly safe. Laying off the

stopes longitudinally at the same angle as the lode the packing can exert no pressure, the

inclination serving as a batter on the rough stone wall, which is only exposed 2£ yards in

height after the blasting has taken place. The mineral also stands perfectly for a width of

3£ yards. Some dust and smalls would of course get mixed with the sterile after blasting,

but with care this could to a great extent be avoided.
As regards expense, allowing Is. 7d. per cubic metre for loading at shoot mouth, traction,

tipping, and building of walls, the charge of packing per ton of ore would be 5d.; winning

of ore and loading, say, Is. 8d. per ton ; total, 2s. Id.; which compares favourably with

both pillar and stall and opencast workings.
To conclude; in Plate III., Fig. 3, the depth of lode to be worked has been marked at 50m.

or 54 yards; this distance can be modified according to requirement, and once the lode

worked to this depth, the same operation can be repeated below. ,The system can also be put

in operation by stoping across the lode, but the advantage of working in favour of the

joints in mineral is lost.
Winning Ore in lodes worked by Pillar and Stall where a general fall has taken place.—In

this case, the writer thinks that the system of mining used in the tin mines of Altenberg,

Saxony, under similar circumstances, might be used. This method consists in driving a

gallery at lower levels in firm ground, skirting the fall, and driving strongly timbered

cross-cuts, 1^ yards by 2| yards, into the loose ground. The workmen thus protected, draw

the loose blocks of ore into the cross-cut at small expense. Care is taken to divide and

localise the slips thus caused as much as possible, in order to avoid the ground taking a

movement of any magnitude. After drawing a certain amount of ore through one of these

cross-cuts, all work in it is stopped until the expected crush has taken place.
The cheapness of the method is proved, as it is carried on in ore containing only one-third

per cent, of lassiterite, with considerable profit.
44 THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF THE PROVINCE OP HUELVA.
CATALOGUE OF FOSSILS EXHIBITED WHEN THE PAPER WAS READ.
1. -Fossils in slate, from the same bed. 2.—Slates, from various localities. 3.—Porphyry ?
4.—Decomposed porphyry from walls of lode.
5.—Samples of partially metallised porphyry and quartzite (?) from walls of lode.

6.—Quartz.
7.—A. Ironstone from surface.
„ B. Azurite, fahlerz, and quartz, in connection with pyrites. „ C. Grey copper

ore, „ „
,, D. Peacock ore, pyrites, etc., „ „
„ E. Galena, „ „
„ F. Grey copper ore, „ „
„ G. Copper pyrites, galena, ,, ,
„ K. Galena, etc., ,, „
„ L. Galena, grey copper, „ „
„ M. Peacock ore, „ „
„ ]ST. Natire copper, quartz, „ „
„ O. Fahlerz, „ .,
„ P. Vein of peacock' ore, pyrites, „ „
,, Q. Pyrites, 6'50 per cent, copper, „ „
8.—Joints in mineral, polished through pressure. 9.—Roman slag. 10.—Speiss (Roman), locally

termed "metal blanquillo." 11.—A. Vein of slag (Roman), running between joints of two

blocks of granite.
forming part of Roman furnace. „ B. Corner covered with slag, from same furnace.

12.—Roman implement, found four feet underground in ruins of house. 13.—Part of Roman

miner's lamp.
DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OP HUELVA. 45
Mr. D. Tyzack said, in the absence of the writer of this most interesting paper, and as

there are probably not many gentlemen present who like himself have been engaged in pyrites

mining in province Huelva, the members perhaps may find interest in a few supplementary

notes he had made.
As his experience was confined to the neighbourhood of the Rio Tinto Company's mines and

works, some 40 miles from the town of Huelva, it would be understood that these notes

applied only to that district and to the Rio Tinto mines.
Geology.—On the subject of the Geology of this district, he should say but little, leaving

to more able men the solution of the phenomena of the occurrence of these immense deposits

of pyrites, but the striking appearance of the neighbourhood for many miles around and

about the mines demands some attention. Mr. Allan states that these deposits ocpur in a

zone of clay slate; this clay slate is almost universally vertical in its cleavage, and in

the mountainous part of the railway from Huelva to the mines and elsewhere, the fantastic

pinnacles of the clay slate assume the appearance of church spires, huge pointed towers,

and saw-like indentations, and though all on edge it never appears to lose its laminated

structure which points directly to its original deposit, being due to the action of water

settling it in a horizontal position, though here and there may be seen zig-zag contortions

of strata evidently the result of lateral pressure, whilst in a more plastic condition than

at present. He had been fortunate enough to obtain from the clay slate formation at Rio

Tinto, the fossil impression of a pair of bivalves, which he believed Professor Lebour,

from specimens in his possession, would be able to show are commonly found in the Lower

Carboniferous system.
Pyrites Lodes, Indications.—He was able to confirm from personal observation, the

peculiarity pointed out by Mr. Allan, that almost without exception the position of a

pyrite lode is strongly indicated by the distinct dark red color of the earth immediately

overlying the pyrites deposits, and he was inclined to believe that this is due to the

chemical action of water percolating through the overlying debris to the pyrites below,

decomposing the same and giving rise to fumes which colour the surface soil. However this

may be, it is worth noting that the most valuable pyrites lodes are indicated in this

manner.
Mining, Bio Tinto.—Some idea of the magnitude of the scale at which mining is carried on at

the Rio Tinto mines may be gathered from several indications. For example it is stated that

the produce of pyrites per day is 4,400 tons; that some 60 locomotives are required on the

works to
46 DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA.
deal with the traffic. It may be roughly stated that some 40 miles of railway are necessary

on the company's mines and works, for the purpose of transporting minerals to and from the

calcination grounds, precipitation tanks, blast furnaces, refining furnaces, etc., etc. And

in order further to assist in grasping the magnitude of the mining done he might mention

that during his experience there, an average of 20 tons of dynamite per month was necessary

to carry on the blasting work, the consumption of dynamite having occasionally reached 25

tons per month.
Opencast Mining.— The large opencast or quarry at the Rio Tinto Mines, several hundred feet

in depth, is a sight not easily forgotten. A faint idea of this opencast may be obtained

from Plates V. and VI., which have been reproduced from some photographs taken about three

years ago from the place itself. These plates will give a better idea of the mode of

working than any long verbal explanations which may be made. Here, however, it may be as

well to observe that as the South Lode opencast is situated well up on the side of a steep

hill, advantage is taken of this to run all the produce from the mines and opencast, out on

the level, by means of five different level tunnels, these tunnels are made large enough to

allow locomotives and trains of five tons wagons to enter the opencast as well as the

gallery workings, thus obviating the necessity of winding engines, except from workings

below the lowest tunnel level.
The necessity to remove by the present system of working increasing millions of tons of

overburden, consisting of porphyry or clay slate from the sides of this opencast, will, in

the course of time, compel the abandonment of this opencast as regards depths, and Mr.

Allan has suggested a system of, as it were, " working broken," by a vertical longwall

face.
The Rio Tinto opencast is worked entirely by means of blasting by dynamite, and at stated

intervals each day a bugle sounds as a warning to engine drivers to remove all locomotives

and wagons out of the way; a second and third bugle-call clear all workmen from the benches

and neighbourhood; the fuses are then fired and for ten minutes a terrific din of blasting

bursts on the ear ; at a distance of 300 or 400 yards one may look on with comparative

safety, when a fine sight of falling rock, smoke, and dust may be witnessed, which,

together with the roar, makes a never-to-be-forgotten impression. This opencast is provided

with a set of powerful electric lights arranged around its surface edges, and by the aid of

reflectors a strong ray of light can be thrown on any part of the chasm and work continued

during the night.
Exploring on unknown Pyrites Lodes and the mode of carrying on underground work.—When a new

lode is to be explored the usual method
DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA. 47
employed is to mark off on the surface at right angles to the course of the lode (which is

usually roughly indicated by the red surface appearance, formerly alluded to, as also by

the outcrop of clay slate), a series of small trial shafts; these are sunk through the

loose debris which frequently covers these lodes, until the clay slate or porphyry is

reached, marking the limit north or south of the line of lode : these trial shafts enable

the engineer to fix the approximate line of the lode as well as the " hade " or angle at

which it lies from the vertical position. When sufficient evidence is given by the trial

shafts that a workable lode containing enough copper to warrant more extensive explorations

has been met, a suitable low-lying valley is usually selected, often at a considerable

distance, and a tunnel heading is driven forward towards the centre line of the lode; this

tunnel is made sufficiently large to admit a locomotive. The work of driving these tunnels

is performed by rock-drills, four drills on one frame, and compressed air at 70 lbs. per

square inch, the air being taken from the compressor in 7 inch diameter flange pipes ; the

electric light is used at the face of these tunnels, and the usual rate of progress in

clay, slate, porphyry, and mineral, in a heading 13 to 14 feet square, varies from 80 to

110m. per month, or say, from 88 to 120 yards per month. The ventilation generally relied

on is the air from the compressor which keeps the face clear, but a dense volume of

dynamite fames hangs about these tunnels till communication is made with the large

ventilating shafts, which are usually sunk every few hundred yards ahead, when the lode is

reached. On reaching the mineral the tunnel headings are guided in the direction they are

to take by the explorations going on in the larger ventilating shafts which have been

steadily sunk in advance every two or three hundred yards on the lode. From these large

exploring shafts, on reaching sufficient depths to encounter the top of the mineral, are

driven at every 11 yards of depth, headings at right angles to, and on line of the lode,

care being taken that each shaft commences these numerous floors at the same level, so

that, on communication being made, one to the other, no inequality of level is experienced.
These main exploring shafts (subsequently to be used for ventilation as the tunnel comes

up) are as quickly as possible connected with each other on the line of the lode at the

different floors by means of galleries <6\ feet square; but usually only sufficient mineral

is raised to keep the exploring galleries free to travel in. Immediately the low tunnel

comes up near enough to the exploring shafts to take off the water from the pumps there

necessarily employed, winzes or staples are sunk from each floor down to the tunnel level,

a little to one side of the locomotive way,
48 DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA.
wooden shoots "with trap doors are arranged over the wagonway, and the work of opening out

the top galleries by pillar and stall is commenced by driving with 6| yard walls,

cross-cuts or headings 13 feet square over to both north and south walls of the lode ; the

mineral so obtained is tipped into the nearest winze till it is full; a train of 30, five

tons capacity wagons can by this means be filled up in a very short time. When the number

of floors become too many, and the traffic in the main tunnel congested, an intermediate

locomotive way is arranged, and the mineral is tipped every two or three floors to an

engine way.
In some of the old work performed at Rio Tinto mines the winzes or staples are almost as

numerous as the headings, and were evidently resorted to as working places to extract

mineral when short of pit room ; these staples, as a rule, were all left open a few years

ago, and many deaths resulted from these traps to the unwary. This state of affairs has

been improved lately, and they are now protected. One of the great difficulties to be

encountered, and every precaution taken against, is the occurrence every here and there of

old Roman shafts and headings, in some cases full of water and fine running sand, in other

cases full of mud, and again charged with fine mineral-like powder. These " Cuevas " as

they are called, are usually suddenly opened out by a blast of dynamite, and a whole train

of wagons has been sanded up and lost in a few seconds in a heading 14 feet high, for many

days together, necessitating the removal of 3,000 to 4,000 tons of run before the work

could be proceeded with. These mine runs are not unfrequently the cause of loss of life

when men do not get quickly enough out of their way. Blasting accidents from dynamite are

of frequent occurrence, and again men lose their lives in the exploring shafts and

headings, which are not usually ventilated, by returning too soon after their blasts to see

the effects of their shots, when they are overcome by the dynamite fumes.
The water in and about these copper pyrites mines is so charged with copper in solution, in

an acid state, that a precipitate of metallic copper is immediately formed on all iron

brought in contact with this water, the result is that all pumps, plungers, buckets,

clacks, bolts, nuts, spear plates, etc., exposed to the direct action of this water have to

be made of a special kind of bronze which resists the action of this acid. In the case of

the rising column of a set of pumps, which are unlikely to be immersed, the difficulty is

got over by lining the set with an inside cleading of \ inch wood, this, if well done,

preserves the iron from the corrosive action of the water. Another curious fact regarding

this water charged with copper is that timber after long immersion becomes in a
DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA. 49
curious way saturated -with metallic copper; so that the pores of the wood which originally

contained its natural sap, are filled instead with copper in a metallic state; this is

immediately seen on cutting into a piece of wood that has been long under water. How

long a time is required for this metamorphosis it is impossible to say, some of the

specimens of Eoman timber from old workings which have been unearthed were in good

preservation and may possibly have been a thousand years or more in soak. It is

probable that the old Eoman water-wheel discovered underground at the North Lode, Rio

Tinto, at a depth of 360 feet, (shown in Plate VII., taken from a photograph), owes its

preservation to saturation by the copper liquor, which eventually becomes partly metallic.

Iron rails submerged for a short time in the water of the mines become completely coated

with an eighth of an inch of bright copper, this chemical action is of course taken

advantage of on the company's works to produce large quantities of copper precipitate,

called " Cascara." Every drop of water from the mines is consequently of value, and miles

of laundry boxes and carefully arranged open water conduits, convey the liquor to the

precipitation tanks.
It cannot be wondered at that the price of copper keeps low when it is stated that 4,400

tons of ore, averaging 3 per cent, of copper, are produced daily at Rio Tinto mines ; this

means that the quantity of metallic copper, if all saved, would amount to 792 tons per

week, or, adding the copper precipitate produced from the water of the mines, there would

be in round numbers 800 tons of copper per week from these mines only.
Professor Lebour said, Mr. Tyzack had mentioned the geological age of the fossil he had

obtained. Mr. Allan seemed himself to have no special view as to the age of the deposits,

but had simply mentioned other people's viewTs. Mr. Allan stated that the age of the

formation was indicated in the geological maps of Maestra and De Verneuil as Silurian,

Roemer described it as belonging to a low horizon of the Culm measures, and J. A. Phillips

as apparently of Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous age. It was very probable that John

Arthur Phillips was right. Culm in Germany w7as simply a slaty or shaly deposit of the

Lower Carboniferous formation which passed perfectly regularly into the Devonian shale,

which was similar to that in the Carboniferous. In the south-west district of Portugal

there was the same sort of thing. Scarcely a fossil was found, and the succession might run

from Silurian to Carboniferous. The place where the slate shown by Mr. Tyzack was found

furnished a fossil which enabled them to say what age that particular part of the series

belonged
VOL. XXXVII.-1887.

^
50 DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA.
to, and there was no doubt it was the Carboniferous. This was the Carboniferous Culm of the

district. There were on the table a number of other specimens of exactly the same fossil,

only distorted by the crushing they had been subjected to by pressure. There was no doubt

this fossil was the Posidonomya Becheri, which was one of the most widely distributed

fossils in the world. He showed specimens of the same fossil from Budle, near Bamborough,

Northumberland, from the Hartz, in Germany, and another from Silesia. The rest, as

Phillips, a very acute observer, said, is probably Devonian as to the part immediately

below this, and possibly Silurian as to the lowest part. He (Professor Lebour) was not

speaking only from the rocks of that district, but also from reading accounts of similar

rocks in Portugal, which were a continuation of the same great band extending from the

borders of Russia.
The Chairman said that these papers had a peculiar interest to him, inasmuch as he was well

acquainted with a large portion of the district described, having some years ago visited

many of the mines there, among them being Eio Tinto. The Tharsis he had not seen. Huelva

was a place which had become of great commercial importance in later years, and he was glad

that this Institute was now in possession of a paper of the description of Mr. Allan's. He

did not think he had before met with a paper on these mines in this form. He believed Mr.

Collins wrote one on the subject; but this Institute had not been in possession of anything

of the kind. There were several interesting points, but he was not able to deal with them

at present. One of the most remarkable things in the*workings of past times was the

smallness of their size. He had seen levels driven 2 feet 3 inches square in this hard

rock, beautifully cut; and how any man could have so cut them was beyond comprehension.

There was no evidence of powder having been used, and, in fact, powder was not known when

this work was done. The Buitron deposit mentioned in the paper he knew a great deal about.

There was no doubt that, after a large expenditure of money, and making a railway some 40

miles long, it was a failure ; but the company were fortunate enough in getting possession

of another deposit, and so the railway may have still answered their purpose. The district,

as a whole, was limited, extending only a few miles north and south, and still less east to

west; but it was of very great interest. He did not know that it would always hold good,

but, as a rule, the mass of pyrites was very much in the shape of a,ship, it narrowed

downwards, and then came to a bottom and the same length-ways. They might compare the shape

of the mass to the hull of a ship, or, in some cases, like a cigar. He moved a vote of
DISCUSSION—THE PYRITES DEPOSITS OF HUELVA. 51
thanks to Mr. Allan for his paper, and to Mr. Tyzack for his supplementary communication,
Mr. J. B. Simpson seconded the vote of thanks, and it was agreed to.
The Chairman said he thought the discussion of Mr. Walton Brown's paper, on " An Account of

Experiments in France upon the Possible Connection between Movements of the Earth's Crust

and the Issues of Gases in Mines," would stand over to a future meeting.
Mr. Walton Brown said, if it was allowed to stand over till the next meeting, he expected a

report from the Committee appointed to make observations would then be ready.
This concluded the business of the meeting.
PROCEEDINGS. •">•>
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10th, 1887.
Sir LOWTHIAN BELL, Bart., President, in the Chaib.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and reported the proceedings of the

Council.
The following gentlemen were elected having been previously nominated :—
Honorary Member-Mi-. William Beattie Scott, Mines Inspector, Wolverhampton.
Ordinary Member—
Mr. William Stephenson Blackburn, Mining Engineer, Astley House, Wood-lesford, near Leeds.
. Associate Members—
Mr. Bennett Hooper Brough, Assoc. R.S.M., F.G.S., &c, Assistant to Professor of Mining at

the Royal School of Mines, 5, Robert Street, Adelphi, London, W.C.
Mr. Joseph R. Irvine, Hendon Ropery, Sunderland.
Mr. William Lee, Felling Colliery, Nowcastle-on-Tyne.
Mr. John Emanuel Tyers, Mechanical Engineer, Mohpani, Central Provinces, India.
Mr. Jacob Wallau, c/o Messrs. Black, Hawthorn, & Co., Gateshead.
Mr. John Andrew Young, 7, Tyne Vale Terrace, Gateshead.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election :—
Honorary Member— Mr. Archibald Edward Pinching, H.M. Inspector of Metallic Mines

(Cornwall), Osborne Lodge, Stoke, Devonport.
Associate Member— Mr. Lancelot Dobinson, Hebburn Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
VOL. XXXVII. -1887,

«
54 PROCEEDINGS.
The President said that in connection with the resignation of the Secretary the matter was

in the hands of a committee. At the earliest period possible the committee would report to

the Institute generally as to what line of conduct they would recommend to be taken.
The Secretary read the following Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the

observations of Earth Tremors :—
REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS. 55
REPOBT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE OBSERVATIONS OP EARTH TREMORS WITH

THE VIEW OF DETERMINING THEIR CONNECTION (IF ANY) WITH THE ISSUE OF GAS IN MINES.
Your Committee beg to report as follows:—
It was agreed in the first stage of their investigations that observations of the time of

the motions of the earth's crust were more important than any others, and consideration has

been accordingly given to the most efficient means of obtaining such observations.
Professor Garnett was requested to advise them upon the most suitable forms of

seismological instruments for this purpose and the valuable report supplied by him is

hereto annexed.
After deciding upon the form of seismograph to be used, approaches were made to several

makers of philosophical instruments who were unable to execute the requirements of the

Committee. Finally, in 1886, arrangements were completed with the Cambridge Scientific

Instrument Company for the supply of one of Professor Ewing's duplex pendulum seismographs

which would record horizontal motions of the earth upon a plate of smoked glass.
In the meantime, Mr. John Daglish gave permission for the use at Marsden Colliery, on the

surface, of a seismograph constructed in accordance with the drawings of Mr. Walton Brown

and similar in all details to those employed by Professor Ewing in Japan.
The instrument used in these observations (see Plates VIII. and IX.) recorded the existence

of tremors, tiltings, or other movements of the earth's crust and the time of their

occurrence, without making any record of their extent or direction.
SEISMOGRAPHS.
The apparatus to be described is largely in use in Japan.
It consists of a pendulum (so controlled by friction as to be dead beat for small

displacements) which is used as a steady point. To enlarge the motion of the earth relative

to this steady point a lever is attached.
H H H H is a wooden box with a door at the lower end for inspection of the apparatus.
50 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
A lead ring E is suspended by brass wires as a pendulum from the screw S. This screw passes

through a small brass plate P which can be moved horizontally over a hole in the top of the

box. The motions of the point of suspension allow the pendulum to be adjusted.
Over the top of the pendulum is a wooden bar W, carrying two sliding pointers h h resting

on a glass plate placed on the top of the pendulum. The points give the frictional

resistance above referred to.
There is a brass bar across the inside of the pendulum perforated with a small hole

(conical) m. A stiff wire passes through m and forms the lever I. This wire passes through

a small ball i which rests upon the upper side of a small brass plate perforated with a

conical hole and resting on the wooden bar 0 crossing the box.
The index I is connected with one pole of the circuit, and hangs freely in the centre of a

depression in a small cup of mercury M. This depression is produced by screwing a small pin

into the bottom of the wooden cup. The mercury forms the other pole of the circuit. Should

the index move more in any other direction than the vertical the circuit is immediately

closed.
For oral demonstration the instrument is shown in connection with a single stroke bell

which is rung by each closure of the circuit.
For obtaining permanent records of the time of the tremors an American clock was used, the

hour hand being connected with a paper disc a. A needle is attached to a lever p, (Plate

IX.) moved by the electro-magnets E each time the circuit is closed, making a puncture in

the paper disc for each closure.
The records cover a period of nearly seven months, from October 19th, 1886, to April 80th,

1887. (See Plate X.) An interesting feature of these records is the irregular and perturbed

movements which lasted from February 7th to March 12th, 1887. They appear to be connected

with disturbances originating at places very distant from the observatory at Marsden.
It seems highly probable that the shocks experienced at St. Louis in the United States on

February 7th were a more violent result of the motions recorded at Marsden on the same day.

These motions continued until February 23rd, the date of the disturbance at Nice and

adjacent district, and ceased on March 12th when that series of Italian disturbances

ceased. The shocks recorded on March 14th seem to have been a reverberation of those

experienced in Bohemia and Burrnah.
The pulsations recorded at Marsden on April 7th and 13th, are evidently the results of the

severe shocks felt at Aden and elsewhere on the 6th, and at Charlestown on the 11th.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS. 57
The experiments now placed on record have been made with a somewhat rough apparatus and

will be shortly extended by means of a more perfect form of seismograph made from the

designs of Professor Ewing, of University College, Dundee. These continued observations

will be accompanied by measurements of the percentage of gas found in the return air of the

mine, made by some of the perfected apparatus which are applicable to such purposes.
The measurements of the proportions of gas have not been made up to the present time. It

may however be mentioned as at least a curious coincidence, that the disturbances of

December 6th to 8th were closely followed by increased issues of gas at several of the

collieries in this district.
APPENDIX A.
SEISMOGRAPH RECORDS AT MARSDEN.
Made Contact. Out of Contact.
1886. 1886.
1. October 25, (?) October 29, 9 a.m.
2. November 1, 1'30 p.m. November 4, (?)
3. November 4, 4'5 p.m. November 5, (?)
4. November 16, 12-30 noon. November 17, between 9-30 a.m. and

1'30
p.m.
5. November 17, 2'20 p.m. November 19, between 9 a.m. and 12

noon.
6. November 27, 1 p.m. December 3, dui-ing night.
7- December 6, 0"45 a.m. December 7, between 5 p.m. and

Dec.
8, 9 a.m.
8. December 9, 2-30 p.m. December 11, 10 a.m.
9. December 18, 6"53 a.m. December 18, 1030 a.m.
10. December 30, 10-40 p.m. A shock.
1887. 1887.
11. January 9, 12-25 noon. January 17, between 5 p.m. and

Jan.
18, 9 a.m.
12. January 18, 9'15 a.m. A shock.
13. January 25, 12-30 noon A shock.
14. January 26, did not record. February 5, between 5 p.m. and

Feb.
7, at 9 a.m.
15. February 7, 5 p.m. March 12, between 12-30

noon, and
16. March 14, between 9 a.m. and March

14, 9 a.m.
noon, A shock.
17. March 16, 1*30 a.m. March 16, between 9 a.m.

and 1 noon.
18. March 18, 11-30 p.m. A

shock..
19. April 7, 9-20 a.m. A

shock.
20. April 13, 2-20 p.m. A

shock.
Instrument out of use after April 30th. 1887.
58 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
APPENDIX B.
REPORT UPON SEISMOLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS.
For most of the matter on which the following report is based, the writer is indebted to

the many published papers of Professor Ewing, of University College, Dundee.
The earth tremors observed in Japan have generally consisted of a succession of

oscillations, each having a period somewhat less than a second or very little greater, and

an amplitude in the horizontal directions varying from about -^-^ inch to £ inch, while the

amplitude in the vertical direction has been considerably less. The maximum force required

to act upon a body in order to make it oscillate through ^it inch aud complete the double

oscillation in one second is about ^^th of the weight of the body. If the periodic time be

increased the force required will be diminished, varying inversely as the square of the

periodic time.
In all seismographs advantage is taken of the mass, or inertia, of a body in virtue of

which it tends to remain stationary while the earth vibrates beneath it. From what has just

been stated it appears that the . mass must be suspended with great delicacy if it is to

record very small earth tremors, since a force arising from friction or any other cause and

equal to ^wi^h of the weight of the body may be sufficient to cause it to move in precisely

the same manner as the earth. Hence the friction and other resistances must be so reduced

as to be small in comparison with go'ooth of the weight of the suspended body. It is also

clear that the equilibrium of the suspended body must be nearly neutral or astatic so that

when its supports are displaced through ^ffth of an inch relative to the body, the forces

tending to restore equilibrium and supposed to act at the centre of gravity of the body

must be small compared with -g-^^th of the weight of the body.
For the purposes of this report the instruments commonly used may be divided into the

following classes :—
1.—Instruments which require to be directly observed at the time of the tremor.
2.—Instruments which record the existence of a tremor without recording its direction or

amplitude.
3.—Instruments which record the details of horizontal vibrations (horizontal seismographs).
¦f.—Instruments which record the details of vertical vibrations (vertical seismographs).
REPORT OF HIE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS. 51)
5.—Clocks or other mechanism for moving the paper, glass, or other material on which the

record is made.
6.—Apparatus for recording the instant at which some particular phase of the tremor occurs.
1.—Among the first class may be mentioned the pendulums of Bertelli and Rossi, the indices

of which are observed directly by a microscope or, after reflection, in a glass prism, in

which case the motion in all azimuths can be observed with one fixed microscope. In the

same class are the different forms of instruments in which the microphone and telephone

indicate the existence of vibrations. As it is not possible to keep an observer permanently

stationed at each instrument we may dismiss this class without further notice.
2.—The second class of instruments may be employed when it is required only to record the

existence of a tremor and the time of its occurrence, without making any record of its

extent, direction, or duration ; but these instruments are most useful in a subsidiary

capacity ; i.e., to set in motion an instrument of class 5 in order to start the motion of

a plate or strip of paper on which a full record is made. The apparatus may consist of a

very delicately-balanced body which falls over, or otherwise moves through a considerable

distance, and in doing so releases a detent, starts a train of mechanism, and either stops

a clock or, by pressing a disc of paper against the hands of a clock, which have been

furnished with ink pads, records the position of the hands and immediately withdraws the

paper without disturbing the going of the clock. But the most 'sensitive as well as the

simplest instrument of this class is a light pendulum carrying a piece of platinum wire

below the bob. Underneath the pendulum is placed a small wooden cup of mercury into the

centre of which an iron pin is fixed. The mercury rises through surface tension in a convex

ring around the pin, while the end of the platinum wire lies within the dimple. When a

horizontal displacement occurs in any direction, the platinum wire comes in contact with

the mercury and completes a circuit through which a current then passes, excites a magnet,

and either starts a recording apparatus of class 5 or a simple time register such as that

above alluded to. Instead of the platinum ware being fixed directly to the pendulum, it may

be attached to a pointer movable about a point, fixed relative to the frame of the

apparatus a little below the bob of the pendulum. The upper end of the pointer is moved by

the pendulum ; the platinum wire at the other end moves through a much greater distance

within the mercury dimple. This instrument may be called an electric seismoscope. (See

Trans. Seismological Society of Japan, Vol. IV., Plate opposite p. i)7.)
60 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
3 and 4.— It is more difficult to construct a vertical seismograph than a horizontal

seismograph, and the vertical movements to be recorded are very much smaller than the

horizontal movements. Hence it seems desirable in the first instance to attempt to measure

only horizontal movements. Horizontal seismographs consist of
(a) Long suspension pendulums.
(b) Duplex (astatic) pendulums.
(c) Horizontal pendulums.
(d) Heavy plates supported (astatically) on rolling spheres or
cylinders.
The instruments (d) possess the advantage of absolute astaticism, but it is impossible to

reduce the rolling friction to one-thousandth of the weight of the plate, and hence only

very severe tremors can be recorded by them. In order to obtain sufficient astaticism in

instruments of subclass (a), it is necessary to employ a long suspension. The record may be

traced by a pointer mounted as described under class 2. The method of making the record

will be referred to under class 5. Be Rossi employs four pendulums a b c d (Plate XI.)

suspended from the corners of a square, and one e from the centre having a longer period of

vibration than the others so as to check the natural swinging of the system. Between the

central pendulum and each of the others is suspended a light needle ffff attached to a coil

of very thin wire. The needles are suspended by fine silk, so that the portions of the silk

make an angle of 155°, and so multiply the motion of the pendulum about six times upon the

needles. Whenever the pendulums approach one another sufficiently, contact is made by the

needle with mercury in a cup. It is not easy to see the special advantage of this

arrangement.
(b) The duplex pendulum consists of an ordinary pendulum, combined with a mass which is

supported on a rod, and free to turn about a - point beneath its centre of gravity. This

mass is generally introduced within the hollow bob of the suspended pendulum. Its

equilibrium being unstable and that of the surrounding bob stable, the equilibrium of the

composite system may be made as nearly neutral as is desired. A short suspension may thus

be made to take the place of one of indefinite length.
The supporting rod may be continued through the hollow bob of the suspended pendulum and

made to carry a tracing point, the motion of which may be several times as great as that of

the earth. (See Trans. Seismological Society of Japan, Vol. V., p. 89.) The instrument is

well adapted for giving in one tracing a complete record of the horizontal
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS. 61
movements of the earth on a fixed plate, but it appears to be difficult of construction

and, for preliminary purposes, inferior to a pair of horizontal pendulums.
(c) Horizontal pendulums record only those horizontal movements which take place in a

direction perpendicular to their own plane. Hence, for a complete record of the horizontal

movements of the earth, a pair of such pendulums, with their planes at right angles to each

other, should be employed. The motion may be multiplied to any extent by sufficiently

increasing the length of the tracing pencils.
Formerly the horizontal pendulum was mounted, as shown in Plate XIII., so as to turn about

the axis a b, the line a b being very slightly inclined to the vertical, so as to give a

very small amount of stability to the instrument. The line c d passes through the centre of

percussion of the frame with respect to the axis a b. The mass M turns about the centres at

c and d, and thus balances as a particle fixed at the centre of percussion of the bracket.

During an earth movement perpendicular to the plane of the bracket, the line c d remains

fixed, and the end of the pointer makes an enlarged tracing of the displacement.
Instead of employing the centres a b for the pendulum to turn on, it is simpler, and it

introduces less friction, to suspend the instrument by a wire af, and allow it to turn on a

knife edge or point b, which rests in a small steel or agate cup (see Plate XIV.) let into

the vertical support. The depth of the depression in which b rests determines the stability

of the instrument. In the most recent form of suspension a slot is cut in the strut b g, so

that the supporting pillar may pass through the slot, and the end b of the strut is then

tied to the back of the pillar by a piece of watch spring held in screw clamps. In this way

the flexure of the watch spring takes the place of the turning of the knife edge, and it is

said that the resistance is still further diminished. A pair of horizontal pendulums of

this construction appears to be the most promising-instrument with which to commence

investigations. (See Plate XV.)
Fig. 1, Plate XV., is an elevation showing one of two horizontal pendulums, and Fig. 2 is a

sectional plan of the pair. The post pl firmly stuck in the earth carries two horizontal

levers I1 P set at right angles to each other to record the two rectangular opponents of

horizontal motion. The bobs mx andm2 are fixed to the rods I1 P, and tied to a pair of

small vices at the top of the post by fine steel wire t. Fig. 2 is a plan of the postj?1

and shows the arrangement of the vices which are fixed in a manner to allow the rods two

horizontal degrees of freedom of adjustment. At the back end of rod I is a fork—shown on a

larger scale in Figs. 8, 4, and 5,
• VOL. XXXVII.—1887.

H
62 REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
—which consists of two parallel cheeks of brass a a terminating in a vice b, which is

clamped by the screw bolt and nut e. A split upright pin p is fixed to the post, and a

short thin flat band of very flexible steel is clamped between it and b to the end of I.

This is kept in tension by the thrust exerted by I, and when the horizontal pendulum swings

the spring bends at, or close to, a vertical line in the centre of the pin. A sector of the

pin x facing towards a Fig. 3, is cut out to give the spring room to bend about the axis of

the pin. The split sides of the pin p are pressed together by the nut n and so caused to

hold the spring between them.
In Fig. 5 one of the cheeks a is removed and the spring shown in vertical section, the flat

spring appearing there lettered s. Only one part of the pin p is screwed, the lower part is

a smooth cylinder and the cheeks a a pass just clear of it on either side, their distance

apart being adjustable within certain limits by the screw bolt and nut d. Hence no

horizontal translation of I can occur, and the only freedom of motion possessed by the

suspending rod en masse is that of revolving in vertical line joining the upper end of t

with the axis of the pin p. A pair of long bamboo rods r r serve to multiply the motion and

record their displacement side by side on a revolving smoked glass plate g, by means of

horizontal pointers y y y. These are short pieces of straw tipped with steel, and each is

provided with a little balance weight w behind the hinge, which lightens the pressure of

the pointer on the plate and so reduces the friction.
To bring the records parallel the rod P is set at right angles to I1, and the counterpoise

w1 serves to bring the centre of gravity of the system back into the line of l2.
5.—The records may be written on—
(a) A revolving smoked glass plate.
(b) A smoked glass plate drawn in a straight line beneath the
recording pencils by mechanism started by an electric seismoscope.
(c) On Morse telegraph paper drawn past the pencils by an ordinary
Morse instrument. (a) If a revolving plate be used it may be made to revolve continuously

or may be started by an electric seismoscope and allowed to run for two or three minutes. A

continuously revolving plate is useless if inspected only at long intervals, because the

slow motion of the zero due to variations of temperature or other accidents causes the

pencils to trace a broad band in course of time and thereby to erase their own records when

the amplitude of the vibrations is small. (Plate XVI.) Hence when the instruments can be

inspected only after an interval of some hours, the electric seismoscope should be employed

to start the glass plate,
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TJ&1MORS. 63
(b) The chief difficulty in this case is to employ a strip of glass of sufficient length

to obtain a record extending over a sufficient length of time, say three or four minutes.
(c) In this case the paper may be kept in a continuous motion or started by the

seismoscope. The record may be made by means of electrified ink, as in the syphon recorder;

by the employment of Bain's method of preparing the paper; or by means of small sparks from

an induction coil sent in rapid succession through the recording pencils. This method

involves the least mechanical resistance but necessitates the constant employment of an

induction coil.
6.—The time may be determined by causing a separate current controlled by a clock to make a

record on the paper at the end of every minute. A double mark might be made at the hours.

If a seismoscope be employed to start the recording apparatus the same current might be

utilised to stop a clock, or to print the position of the clock hands on a disc of

varnished paper as mentioned above.
W. GARNETT.
Plate XVII. shows a complete set of apparatus, as recommended by Professor Ewing, for

automatically registering the motion of the ground during earthquakes. They were originally

where some of them have been in use since 1880. The forms now offered contain many

improvements in detail, suggested by experience of earthquake measurement in Japan.
The Horizontal Pendulum Seismograph a. This records two rectangular horizontal components

of each successive displacement of the ground, in conjunction with the time, on a revolving

plate b of smoked glass. Two horizontal pendulums, pivoted on the same base by sharp steel

points in sapphire sockets, furnish two steady points, with respect to north-south and

east-west motion respectively. The pendulums are furnished with an adjustment by which they

are put in nearly neutral equilibrium, and stand at right angles to each other. The motion

is multiplied and recorded by twro pointers projecting from the pendulums, and set so that

they trace, with exceedingly little friction, a pair of magnified records of the earth's

horizontal motion, in two components, side by side on the smoked glass plate. The pendulums

and pointers are shown on the right-hand side of the plate. On the left is a clock c, which

drives the plate at a uniform speed by a projecting friction roller d. The speed of the

clock is controlled by a balanced centrifugal governor e, furnished
64 DISCUSSION—REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
with vanes which dip into oil. The clock may be arranged to run continuously, but is more

generally started by means of an electro-magnetic detent, which acts whenever an electric

circuit is closed by the small Palmieri Seismoscope/which appears in the woodcut behind the

plate. This seismoscope is a short pendulum, ending in a platinum point which hangs just

over a depression in a cup of mercury, and ready, when the slightest disturbance occurs, to

make contact by touching the edge of the depression. This happens during the preliminary

tremors of the earthquake, and causes the plate to begin revolving before the principal

motions are felt. A record is then traced in the form of two undulating lines, which may

extend without confusion throughout two or three revolutions of the plate. The record is

preserved by varnishing the plate and using it as a " negative " to print photographs. The

plate is supported in a way which allows it to be removed and replaced without disturbing

the rest of the apparatus. A spare plate is supplied with each seismograph.
A special appliance is provided for the double purpose of showing the speed of the plate

during its motion, and of determining the hour and minute at which the earthquake occurred.

This is a second clock, not shown in the plate, which is started into motion along with the

first, and has an escapement which marks time on the plate during the first revolution and

then ceases to mark. The clock, however, continues going, and an inspection of its dial

shows the interval that has elapsed from the time of the shock.
The President asked Professor Garnett if he had anything to add ?
Professor Garnett said the main departure from the reports which had been made in regard to

instruments arose from the high prices which were charged for the horizontal pendulums. It

was found that a duplex pendulum, made by the Cambridge Instrument Company, could be got at

a much lower cost than the pair of horizontal pendulums; if the horizontal pendulums could

have been made in Newcastle, the cost would have been still lower. They thought the best

thing they could do was to recommend the Council to purchase a duplex pendulum on the score

of economy, and this recommendation had been adopted by the Council, and the instrument was

now in the possession of the Institute.
Professor Lerour said that in connection with the subject of earth tremors and this

Institute, he should like to mention what was stated more fully in his report as a delegate

from this Institute to the meeting
DISCUSSION—REPORT OE THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS. (55
of the British Association, and which he thought ought to be stated here, that, after

considering the work that had been done by the Earth Tremors Committee of the Institute in

the North, the British Association, and especially Sections A, C, and G of the Association,

thought it advisable that this work should be extended over a greater part of the country.

Of course this Institute could only pretend to conduct such work in its neighbourhood; and

much of the value of the work depended upon it being extended by a network of observations

all over the country. At the last meeting of the British Association, at Manchester, there

was appointed a very influential committee to consider the advisability and the possibility

of establishing such a network of seismographical observatories over England. That

committee was now beginning its work. A great many gentlemen of very well known names were

on that committee, and this was a guarantee that its work would be done carefully. He might

add that at Birmingham they had already started the setting up of a seismoscope of a

simpler kind, and three were about to be set up within a radius of ten miles of that town;

three more next year, and so on. At Birmingham they intended to do this little by little on

account of the expense. Others were going to be set up in Scotland, and he heard of

inquiries from various parts of the country for information about setting up these things.

In this way the work which this Institute begun was already receiving recognition ; and it

was specially mentioned in reference to the British Association Committee that they were to

consider whether the work, as done by this Institute, was to be imitated or not. Sunderland

was the locality which first called attention to these earth tremors; and within the last

few days Mr. Backhouse, of Sunderland, had published in the local papers an account of some

very careful surveys, which had been made by a very competent surveyor, of his house and

grounds, proving there had been a sinking of the land in that part of Sunderland of

something like 3 feet—he forgot the exact figure—in less than thirty years, and that the

sinking was now going on, and that there had been a sinking of several inches in the last

tew years.
The President—Independent of coal workings ?
Professor Lebotjr—That was the question. He (Professor Lebour) would not say what the cause

was. This sinking had been going on for years, and that it was still going on seemed to be

absolutely proved by the earth tremors occurring in Sunderland in the last two years, and

which were constantly going on ; he heard of one last week. Whether they were really earth

tremors, or due to underground workings, or due to simple local falls of stone—as he

believed they very likely were—
06 DISCUSSION—REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EARTH TREMORS.
would be proved by a seismological network of observations. The seismograph recording

various local tremors, in various parts of the country, would be a check upon one another,

and it would be seen whether the tremors were local or spread over a wide extent. As to the

word seismoscope he found that Professor Ewing, an authority upon the subject, applied the

word seismograph to the larger kind, and the word seismoscope to the smaller kind, which

recorded where, and the time the tremors took place.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, in the report of the Committee it was stated that it might " be

mentioned, as at least a curious coincidence, that the disturbances of December 6th to 8th,

were closely followed by increased issues of gas at several of the collieries in this

district." He would be glad if the Committee would give a little more information as to how

these observations were made. They knew that gas appeared, in the first place, by the

gradual or continuous exudation from the face, or it might come off at the goaf edges at a

low state of the barometer; or by a man's pick point entering a cavity where gas was ; but

he did not see how earth tremors were likely to affect these three cases. In observing the

earth tremors and gas issues they should agree upon a system by which the giving off of gas

at the collieries could be equally and regularly noticed as the seismological observations.

This could be done by taking-two or three collieries, and have an indication of the gas

given off in those places.
The President— Can anyone answer Mr. Steavenson's observations ?
Mr. Walton Brown said, the Committee had carefully considered the question of measuring the

gas, but they had experienced great difficulty in finding an apparatus sufficiently rapid

and delicate for their purposes. In an ordinary mine the usual amount of gas in the main

returns might be, say | per cent., and if doubled by any unusual circumstances it would

only amount to 1 per cent. Now it was very difficult to obtain an instrument to measure

such small percentages of gas quickly and correctly. Of course they could certainly take it

to the laboratory and have the samples analysed, but that would be a slow and expensive

process.
The President—Yes, that could be done.
Mr. Walton Brown—He was corresponding with Mr. Maurice and Sir William Thomas Lewis as to

their fire-damp indicator It was not ready for use yet, but he believed it would be what

was wanted.
The President—It might be interesting to the meeting to know what is about the cost of

these instruments.
Professor Garnett thought the cost of the duplex pendulum was
discussion—report of the committee on earth tremors. 67
about £14, and the complete set of horizontal pendulums, etc., cost something like £60.

This answer was subject to correction as he spoke from memory.
Professor Lebour—One of these simple recording apparatus cost about £2.
The President—This is a most interesting question, and thanks are due to these gentlemen

for taking so much trouble in connection with these investigations.
The following paper by Mr. James McKinless "On a Gauzeless Safety-lamp," was read:—
ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP, 69
ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP.
By JAMES McKINLESS.
The chief feature of this lamp is that gauze is entirely discarded, the feed air is

admitted through a large number of very small holes drilled in a belt or band h (Plate

XVIII.) above the glass m and middle ring of the lamp /, passing downwards between this

belt and an inner conical chimney I into the combustion chamber Ic. The results of

combustion pass upwards through this conical chimney I (on the top of which a cap I1 is

fixed to collect the unconsumed particles of carbon or soot), and thence through a large

number of very small holes drilled in a cap j, and escape near the top of the lamp.
This outlet cap is fitted and riveted to a cylindrical tube Ic, the lower end of which fits

into a collar of the feed air belt h, on which collar the diaphragm of the conical chimney

rests. This arrangement separates the inlet and outlet currents, so that all the feed air

entering the lamp passes into the combustion chamber.
There is also an upper ring d or diaphragm on a level with the top of the bonnet through

which the outlet cap is visible, and this arrangement allows the results of combustion to

escape without remixing with the feed air.
There are two shields a and b outside the feed air belt, having large openings to allow the

free ingress of air, but so arranged as to prevent the force of a current from striking

directly against the small i'eed air holes and disturbing the flame. The outer shield can

easily be removed in case of damage, and, when put right, can as easily be refixed, being

fastened by simply turning in four or five tongues t of its own metal under the top ring d.

The combustion chamber Ic and the drilled band It are kept in their place by the ring/; g

is the bottom ring that secures the whole to the oil reservoir o; m is the glass, and n a

ring for holding the glass in its place.
Most modern lamps depend for their safety on the number or arrangement of bonnets or

shields which protect the gauzes, and many
VOL. XXXVII.-1887.

I
70 ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP.
are the devices which hare been adopted in this respect, but this is a really safe lamp

without any shields. By the kindness of Mr. C. F. Clarke, it was tested at the Park Lane

Apparatus, near Wigan. The inner lamp was simply placed on the glass with an asbestos

washer between the glass ring and oil vessel, and wedging it to the top of the test box to

prevent tilting in this position, with the force of the current playing directly on the

feed air belt n the outer gas could not be fired. It is only fair, however, to say that the

highest velocity obtainable at this apparatus (with a very explosive mixture) did not

exceed 17 or 18 feet per second. What greater velocity it would stand without shields there

has been no opportunity of ascertaining, but most probably it would be safe in a much

stronger current. The complete lamp, with its shields, has withstood a velocity which fired

nearly all other lamps, including the Marsaut, Morgan, Donald, bonneted Mueseler,

Protector, and many others which are largely in use at the present time.
Probably the most severe tests to which safety-lamps have ever been submitted in this

country are those which took place at the Neepsend Gas Works, Sheffield, the reports of

which appeared in the Sheffield papers of the 20th and 27th June last.
It is unnecessary to occupy space by giving the full report of these tests, but one short

paragraph may be of some interest.
"Now, referring to these vertical descending tests, it ought to have been stated that this

lamp would not burn in the wind under the high pressures, and it was, therefore, put in the

box at 1*40 water gauge, and after the gas had ignited inside the lamp the pressure was

increased to 2-50 water gauge. It then took two minutes to fire, so the lamp behaved well

even under these conditions."
These tests seem to prove that the Clifford, McKinless, and Purdy No. 2 lamps are the three

best in the order given, so far as safety tests go; but there are other points which are

very essential to a good, practical collier's lamp. It should be strong and durable, simple

in construction, not easily put out of order or rendered unsafe. It is admitted by many

mining experts that gauze is the weak part of a safety-lamp, because it is so easily

damaged, and a very small defect (which may escape notice) may be the cause of a great

disaster. It is also unreliable because from burning, oxidation, and brushing, the wire

gradually becomes thinner and loses its absorbing power, and it is, therefore, difficult to

determine at what point safety ends and danger begins. This lamp is strong in every part,

and instead of gauze the inlet and outlet are through holes drilled in special metal ^ of

an inch
ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP. 71
thick, every hole is ¦£$ inch diameter and §• inch long, and therefore represents a tube.

It has very few parts, and these can be so easily and quickly taken to pieces and put

together that a great saving should be effected in the lamp cabin. It also possesses the

great desideratum (which cannot be too highly appreciated) that the collier, as well as the

official who inspects, can see at a glance that the lamp is complete in all its parts,

because with the outlet cap and the conical chimney in sight the lamp cannot be improperly

put together. There is nothing, therefore, to examine but the lock, which is a simple

arrangement for a lead plug.
By covering up the three lower rows of openings in the outer shield a with asbestos cloth

or leather, the lamp feeds from the top, and is then an excellent gas trier; and the writer

has been told by a manager in Lancashire that gas could be found with this lamp when a Dary

failed to show any trace of it.
It gives a very good light which is not easily put out, and it will bear a considerable

amount of tilting, swinging, and jerking. All lamps having chimneys are supposed to be more

or less sensitive, but the chimney seems essential to the safety of the glass by preventing

the flame impinging on it, and, although this lamp has a chimney similar to the Mueseler,

the dimensions are different, the currents are separated, and it is much less sensitive.

There are many who consider the chief merit of the Mueseler is that it compels the men to

be very careful, but this can hardly be considered a very sensitive lamp.
Something may be said about its cost, and many say an ordinary lamp is good enough, and it

costs much less. Some say this even of the uncovered Davy, and so said Mr. Speakman, of

Bedford Leigh, until an appalling accident proved he was wrong.
It will be apparent to anyone that with 1,416 small holes to drill the lamp must be an

expensive one to produce, and yet, by the aid of special machinery, they can be sold at a

price not much in excess of an ordinary lamp offering the usual security; and when the

saving of time in the cabin and in the inspection below is considered, and the absence of

gauze which requires such frequent renewals, even on the score of economy it will compare

favourably with any other lamp. Its weight is 3 lbs.
In conclusion, the writer calls attention to a paragraph from page 68 of the Report of the

Royal Commission :—" If a lamp has the property that when placed in the current of an

explosive mixture, the flame and the internal ignited gas are both certainly extinguished

in a few seconds, such a lamp must be absolutely safe; but it does not follow that a lamp

is unsafe if the gas continues to burn within the lamp."
72 DISCUSSION—ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP.
This lamp, one of the first made, appeared to possess this very desirable property, for, at

the Aldwarke Main tests, it went out entirely in all cases, but it was too sensitive, and,

therefore, not practical. Afterwards the number of feed air-holes were increased, which was

a great improvement; and, latterly, the feed air and outlet have been increased very

considerably, with the result that the internal ignited gas does not go out always, and, in

very high velocities, would probably continue to burn. This leads always to the conclusion

that a lamp so nicely balanced in the intake and outlet as to secure complete extinction of

flame in gas, under all circumstances, is scarcely a practical one.
The lamp could be adapted to burn spirit, but the one shown is burning " Ogilvie" oil,

which is thought to be the cleanest and most satisfactory oil to be met with.
The President: No doubt the meeting would like to hear some of their experienced friends

give their opinion upon this lamp.
Mr. Steavenson said he saw that the author of the paper considered gauze the weak part of a

safety-lamp His (Mr. Steavenson's) impression was that the glass was the weak part. The

glass was apt to break from the heat of the flame, or a drop of water coming to it when

hot. He was inclined to think that a lamp without gauze might be considered a weaker lamp

than a lamp with gauze.
Mr. Gr. B. Forster said they had really got so many excellent lamps now that it was very

difficult to distinguish between them. He agreed with Mr. Steavenson that a gauze inside of

the glass was certainly safer, but the difficulty was that it interfered with the light so

much. He had never in his own experience had an instance of a lamp which might have been

rendered dangerous by the glass breaking without a blow, which might equally damage the

gauze.
Mr. John Daglish said this lamp was rather a return to the old Stephenson lamp. He

remembered seeing it in some book—-he believed it was by Sir Humphrey Davy—that an element

of safety was absent in such lamps ; that the great theoretical value and practical use of

gauze was its rapid conducting power, which was absent where a large mass of metal was

dealt with. He had never seen a glass broken in his own practice, but he had heard of a

glass actually breaking and leaving an aperture.
DISCUSSION—ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP. 73
Mr. J. Gr. Weeks thought if lamps were always necessarily examined at bank, and only there,

this lamp might be found practicable and useful; but if any value was to be attached to the

examination of the lamps by the deputy-overmen and other officials at the examination

stations appointed in-bye in the workings of the mine, as was the general practice in the

North of England, then this lamp, from its construction, would not be suitable, as it would

entail too much time and labour to take it to pieces to make the necessary examination,

such as could and was easily and readily done with the the gauzes of lamps like the Marsaut

and bonneted Clanny.
Mr. Markham asked if the lamp was as easily cleaned as the Davy ?
Professor Merivale asked if the lamp got full of smoke and soot after a little use ? Was

there any difficulty in keeping it clean ?
Mr. McKinless said, with respect to the breaking of the glass, it should be borne in mind

that even if a collier struck his glass with his pick, and broke it, naturally there could

be no harm accrue from that immediately, unless there happened at that very second of time

to be an explosive mixture present. One second before such an accident occurred the lamp

would indicate the presence of gas; and it would hardly be possible to break a glass under

conditions of danger. With regard to the chimney, he looked upon it as essential to prevent

the flame impinging on the glass. He looked upon the chimney as a necessity to safety-lamps

depending upon glass. With regard to the examination below, it would be found on inspecting

the lamp that it was impossible to put this lamp together if any part was left out. One of

its strong points was, that the miner using it, as well as the official who had to inspect

the lamp, could see at a glance that no part was left out. With the base of the conical

chimney in view, and the cap also always in view, it was impossible to omit anything ; and

examination below was entirely unnecessary in any case, except that there might be a

possibility of the holes being choked up, and the deputy could easily see that. With regard

to choking up of the holes at the top, it had not been found to be so in practice. The lamp

had been used in dusty places longer than was generally worked in this neighbourhood, and

it had not been found that the holes filled up. They required cleaning certainly ; they

ought to be cleaned every day, the same as gauze lamps; because he had found that in a

number of instances the lamp man had been in the habit of* looking through the holes, and

because he did not see any of the holes clogged up thought cleaning was not required. The

best plan would be to clean the lamps by means of a jet of steam; an ordinary inch pipe,

with a
74 DISCUSSION—ON A GAUZELESS SAFETY-LAMP.
conical nozzle opening to the size of the glass, so as to fit into the top glass ring (of

course removing the chimney first) would answer the purpose, and one person could clean a

very large number in a short time. It was necessary, of course, to keep the holes open ;

but he did not see any difficulty in doing this : a jet of steam or perhaps compressed air

would do it. A small amount of moisture went off with combustion, and in course of time, if

not cleaned, every hole would get a coating of a sort of slimy matter, and, instead of a

^th diameter, the holes would probably, in a short time, be found to be reduced to a ^nd ;

and this would reduce the outlet by nearly half, and would not be fair to the lamp. It was

necessary, therefore, that they should be kept clean. This would answer the question

whether the lamps were easy to clean.
Mr. Forster—It is supposed that this glass may be broken if it gets very hot and a drop of

water falls on it.
Mr. McKinless said he had tested the glass by admitting small quantities of gas so as to

make the glass as hot as possible, and then plunged a brush into cold water and thrown

spray against it. He had also managed to persuade one or two viewers to try this

themselves, and he had not found in any instance that the glass had even cracked. At the

most the cracking of the glass would be all that could result, and with a crack in the

glass there was no danger whatever.
The President, in the name of the members, thanked Mr. McKinless for his paper, and for his

attendance at the meeting.
The following paper by Mr. Emerson Bainbridge on a "Description of a Miner's Safety-lamp

designed to meet the requirements of the Mines Regulation Act coming into force on January

1st, 1888," was read :—
DESCRIPTION OF A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP. 75
DESCRIPTION OF A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP DESIGNED TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MINES

REGULATION ACT COMING INTO FORCE ON JANUARY 1st, 1888.
Ry EMERSON BAINBRIDGE.
Some years ago the writer was allowed the opportunity of describing a new form of

safety-lamp to this Institute, and since that period the lamp has been used at various

collieries, but time has shown that although it has the advantage claimed for it, it admits

room for considerable improvement, and further than this, it is not, without a shield, safe

in the light of the various experimental tests which have been carried on during the past

few years.
The useful work of the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines was directed for a

considerable time to the important question of the actual safety of so-called safety-lamps,

and their report has no doubt been the basis of the fresh regulations respecting miners'

lamps imposed by the new Mines Act. That Act requires that in a pit where gas is found, a

safety-lamp used underground shall be of such a description as will not fire an explosive

current impinging against the lamp at a velocity the same as that which exists in the place

where the lamp will be in use.
These enactments practically condemn the Davy, the Stephenson, and the Clanny lamps in all

mines where safety-lamps are used at all.
Noting the elaborate character of most of the new types of safety-lamps which in recent

years have been brought before the mining public, the author has for some time been turning

his attention to the question of producing a lamp simple in construction, economical in

first cost and in the cost of oil and repairs, easy to clean, and satisfactory in lighting.

The object of this short paper is to describe a lamp which, he ventures to hope, possesses

these characteristics, and which is an actual safety-lamp within the meaning of the new

Mines Act.
Before describing this lamp reference may be made to some of the objectionable points

relating to the majority of lamps now in use, viz.:—
1.—These for the most part use oil as an illuminant, though deodorised spirit is now

largely used, and a mixture of oil and paraffin together in the proportion of 2 : 1 is also

used on a small scale. From a series of
76 DESCRIPTION OF A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP.
careful inquiries the author finds that where oil is used the cost per annum
of lamp-keeping, including everything, amounts to 15s. per lamp per
annum in some cases, whereas with spirits the cost does not exceed 10s.
With the lamp now before the Institute, he expects to be able to include
everything in a cost of 7s. 6d. per lamp per year.
2.—Of the above cost, " repairs," of course, form an important item, and the author has

come to a conclusion on this point which may surprise some of the members of this

Institute, namely, that the chief repairs which a safety-lamp needs are due to the

treatment it receives in the lamp cabin. The twisting due to the screwing and unscrewing of

the ring which secures the glass of a lamp is probably the chief cause of the giving way of

the supporting pillars, which are thus much strained, whilst the "banging" a lamp often

receives when it is restored to the lamp cabin, also does much to damage it.
8.—The lamp gauze, however, is probably the item in which the most severe renewals are

required, and, in cases where a double top gauze is used, it is frequently found that,

whilst the upper gauze has to be changed every two months, the lower gauze, namely, that

nearest the flame, has to be renewed in one month. Nor is this all, for the top of the

vertical gauze is also so damaged (close to the gauze cap) that it has to be restored at

the same time. In the lamp now referred to, this difficulty has been surmounted.
4.—In most safety-lamps hitherto in use, the gauze is exposed to the air, and in this way

has not only been the means of accumulating a large quantity of coal-dust, which clogs the

air holes, but has been found very liable to get damaged by a miner's pick, or by a falling

body, or by careless treatment. The new lamp, in common with all bonneted lamps, provides

against these objections.
5.—In the cleaning of most of the lamps in use up to this date, the lamp is separated or

unscrewed into a number of parts, this alone being a fruitful cause of wear and tear;

further, especially in oil lamps, there is a good deal of over-cleaning of gauzes, such

cleaning by brushes contributing, probably, much more to the wear of some parts of the

gauzes than the actual use of the lamps in the mine. In employing spirit, much less

cleaning is necessary, and in the lamp now described it is proposed to altogether discard

the use of brushes in the treatment of the gauzes, and to apply compressed air.
G.—The relative price of oil and spirit is as 2s. 4d. is to 9d. per
- gallon, but, as at present used, the economy of spirits is represented by
not more than half the saving these figures suggest. In the new lamp,
DESCRIPTION OP A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP. 77
by feeding the reservoir through the wick-hole, the waste caused by the sliding lid is

avoided.
7.—The ordinary small screw which locks a safety-lamp is loose, and is apt to get lost; in

the new lamp the screw is so made that it cannot be detached outwards.
The author submits one of the lamps he has designed to the Institute to-day, a sectional

sketch of which is shown, and on reference to which the following features of the lamp

which he now summarises will be understood:—
1.—It is a lamp composed of only four movable parts (which are simple and easily put

together), instead of the ten separate parts which constitute some of the modern improved

safety-lamps.
2.—As the lamp bottom is, in all cases, most subject to wear and tear, the strength is

specially put in that part. The inside of the brass bottom is covered with tin, which,

whilst preventing corrosion, maintains the full lighting power of the illuminant used.
3.—It is suggested that, on the ground of economy and superior light, deodorised spirit

should be used (the cost of which is less than one half as much as oil), the flame being

adjusted by means of a ring round the wick tube, and an ordinary pricker. Although spirit

is recommended, colza, seal, or other oils may be used, if preferred.
4.—The glass is about f inch longer than the ordinary Clanny lamp glass, and is made of a

specially clear and translucent quality of glass, polished at both ends, and properly

annealed. It can be cleaned in its place, and need never be moved except in case of

accident. There is hence a saving in washers. As special provision for expansion by heat is

made, breakages will necessarily be few.
5.—The glass frame, or body of the lamp, is supported by four pillars, which are so placed

as to allow fully three-eighths of the glass to be free from a pillar, and its consequent

and objectionable shadow.
G.—The gauze can only be taken out by removing the locked bonnet. This is done by causing

the top of the lamp to unscrew. This top is locked by a bolt, which is fastened by the lock

which secures the lamp.
7.—The holes at the top of the bonnet are made above the gauze, and the cap of the gauze is

of metal instead of gauze, the former being much more durable.
8.—By a simple and efficient shut-off arrangement, the inlet of air which supports

combustion can at once be closed, if the presence of gas is discovered.
9.—This lamp has been tested in the highest explosive current, at a
VOL. XXXVII.—1887

«*
78 DESCRIPTION OF A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP.
velocity of over 30 feet per second, and does not explode, but is found perfectly safe. It

should be noted that this velocity is twice as great as is met with in any ordinary coal

mine.
10.—The screw which secures the top of the lamp to the glass frame is protected from wear

by means of a stop or block which brings the bolt exactly opposite the hole into which it

is secured by the lamp lock.
With Tegard to the use of spirit for lamps there appears to be a prejudice against its use,

caused chiefly by some fires which have taken place in lamp cabins, and by small explosions

which have been observed in the lamp. After careful inquiries the author has come to the

conclusion that with ordinary care such mishaps could have been and can be avoided, and the

fact that about 40,000 spirit lamps are now in use in the county of Yorkshire alone,

indicates that it is growing in favour. There is little doubt that for cleanliness, good

light, and economy, it is much superior to oil, and a spirit flame is also more sensitive

in indicating the presence of small quantities of gas. A more brilliant light enables the

workman to avoid danger better, and to produce the coal cleaner.
A lamp burning with spirit is more apt to go out than one using oil, but this ensures more

careful treatment of the lamp.
The safety-lamp which the author has endeavoured to describe has been tested at a velocity

of 30 feet per second and has been found quite safe, but at a higher velocity it will

probably be found that it will not explode. The lamp does not cost more than 6s., and the

author ventures, in conclusion, to express the hope that in point of first cost, economy in

lighting, cleaning, and repairs, simplicity of construction, and practical safety, the lamp

he has brought before the members will possess some points of interest at the present time.
The details may be thus described :—a (Plate XIX.) is the ring which does not revolve ; b

b, air outlets above gauze; c, cap of gauze, made of sheet copper; d d, point where shield

screws into lower portion; the ring e and the lower part of the shield d are so arranged by

means of a stop that the locking bolt i slips at once into its place without requiring any

adjustment of the shield; there is also a small stop and slot which allows the shield to

move T\ of an inch, and cuts off the supply of air shown by the arrow p at will; //, copper

base for gauze to prevent wear ; h, specially annealed transparent glass, which is only

removed when broken; /', asbestos washers which allow of the expansion of the glass; h,

pricker ; /, screw cap for spirit reservoir, to prevent waste caused by sliding panel; m,

lock which exposes bottom and top of lamp simultaneously.
DISCUSSION—DESCRIPTION OF A MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP. 79
Professor Merivale said he had got Dr. Stroud to measure the light given by this lamp, and

he found that it gave ^ of a candle-light. He (Professor Merivale) thought it gave a great

deal more light, and therefore he got Dr. Stroud to measure the light.
The Secretary—Mr. Bainbridge writes that he is, unfortunately, unable to be here to-day,

and he would feel obliged if the discussion on his lamp could be postponed for the present.
The following paper by Mr. George Lee on " The Endless Chain in Spain " was read :—
THE ENDLESS CHAIN IN SPAIN. 81
THE ENDLESS CHAIN IN SPAIN.
Br GEORGE LEE.
A statement of the particulars of a railway constructed recently, together with a few

remarks upon the district which it has brought into communication with the trunk line

commanding a port of shipment, may not be out of place as a supplement to the previous

paper on the above subject.*
The locality of the areas taken, named San Juan and Dolores, containing the deposits of

iron ore, for the transportation of which the railway was designed, is situated in the

highest altitudes of the Bilbao mineral zone.
The ore, which is chiefly a rich " Oampanil" of a superior quality, and " rubio" is found

in the limestone capping the mountains. (See Plate XX.)
To convey the produce of these mines over the mountains, down 1,640 feet to the Galdames

railway, belonging to the Bilbao River and Oantabrian Railway Company, which winds round,

midway up, the spurs of the mountain containing the iron ore deposit of the Somorrostro, an

endless chain, whose well-known properties aided in surmounting the difficulties pertaining

to the profile of the most desirable route (see Plate XX.), was deemed the best method of

transport that could be adopted.
The railway is 3,408 yards long, consisting of seven lengths, determined by four angles and

two stations, the particulars of which are as follows:—
* See Vol. XXXIII., p. 187.
The chains, weighing altogether upwards of 63 tons, were specified to be of bar rolled net

size, equal to a strain of 20 tons per square inch, made in lengths not exceeding 400

metres; out of each length the endeavour was made to select test lengths containing the

weakest link, which were submitted to the test with the following results:—
The proof strain was not applied for the ordinary purpose of this test j but to give the

open chains a set, in order to insure the kindly working of the links in the claws of the

wheels.
The chief factors that affected the installation of the chain were:—
Weight of load (mineral carried by tub) ...... 10 cwt,
tub.................. 3.4 (i
„ 1^ in. chain, per yard ...... ... 27-7 „-
rain. „ „ ......... 11-5 f>
„ full train, with l-jfe in. chain, per yard ... 94 lbs.
„ empty „ „ „ ... 43-5 (>
„ full train, with U in. chain „ ... 77-2 „
empty „ „ „ ... 27"9 „
THE ENDLESS CHAIN IN SPAIN. 83
Coefficient of resistance ... ... ... ... '066 lbs.
Distance between centres of tubs in train ... ... 65^ feet.
Span, being the space between the tubs ... ... 61% »
Top of tub, or point of suspension above the sleepers 30| „
Height of rail .................. 2\13 „
„ fork above rail ... ... ... ... 32 ,,
In contending with the extraordinary gradients, curves of small radius, and the exceptional

weight of the trains, the chief object in the designing of the plant was to have a tub

which, whilst meeting the demands of the first two, should be as light as possible. To

secure this only iron and steel were used in its construction.
The system of signalling is that of the ordinary hammer rapper, one of which, combined with

a lever for pulling the rapper in advance, is placed on the framework of each station. The

duty of the brakesman is to so control the train that the chain shall be fed with tubs from

the train that terminates at his station, at the regulation distance, during such times as

the hammer remains elevated, pulling up the train gradually in twenty metres, on its fall,

which liberates the lever holding the rapper in advance, thus giving the signal to stop at

the whole of the stations simultaneously.
Instead of using the vertical shaft of the chain wheel, a sliding stud is provided, in

separate framework at the angles and stations, for the loose pulleys of the terminating

chains. In the rear of the stud is a screw by which the brakesman takes up the slack

produced by the wear, or meets the variation, as affected by temperature, in the length of

the chain, thus effectually placing within the power of the brakesman the prevention of the

chain from trailing; also rendering unnecessary the subjection of the chain to the extra

strain, far exceeding the requisite sustaining tension, from the blocks used to haul in the

slack in the process of the periodical shortening where a fixed pulley is used.
To prevent the light chain of the laden train on the length G- H from lifting out of the

forks in the concave curves m and n, see-saw bearing-down sheaves were designed, consisting

of a beam frame, supported by an axle passing through its centre, at a height admitting the

tubs to pass underneath. In each end of the beam is placed a sheave on the line of the

chain it bears down; beneath the sheaves the sides of the beam, shod with iron, are deeper

than the intervening space between, in the middle of the beam which, when in a horizontal

position, is free above the top of the passing tubs. When an approaching tub comes in

contact with the tapered end of the beam, the deepened sides gliding over the top of the

load, the sheave is raised beyond the reach of the
84 THE ENDLESS CHAIN IN SPAIN.
fork, whilst the sheave in the depressed end of the beam, in advance,
hearing down, retains the chain, relieved from the pressure of the sheave
under which the tub is passing, securely within the fork. In a similar
manner the departing tub depresses the end of the beam in the rear,
bearing down the chain in the fork whilst the other sheave is cleared.
To provide for the probability of the surplus power in the trains of the lengths 0 D and D

E being utilised to lift mineral out of the valleys in the vicinity of the angle E, a

heavier chain, capable of bearing the additional controlled load of the length C D, was put

down on D E, the control of which length is, in the meantime, under the restraining force

of a four-bladed fan-fly 18 feet diameter by 7 feet wide.
At the station F the two chains E F and F Gr are united by means of two clawed wheels

secured to a shaft governed by a fan-fly, neutralising so much of the surplus power of the

length E F as is over and above that required to assist the length F Gr in overcoming the

resistance on the length G H.
The distance between the terminus of the railway at H and the mine is worked by

gravitation, the empty tubs leaving the chain at a point before reaching H, sufficiently

high above so as to insure their running as far as the mine's sidings, from where the laden

ones gravitate to the hanging-on at H.
The rock met with in making the formation of the railway was for the first five-eighths of

a mile the hard blue schist peculiar to the district and locally known as " Cayuela,"

which beyond yielding beds of hydraulic limestone is practically barren veins of

ore, although they may have the " Cayuela " for walls to contact lodes, never piercing it.

In the absence of more suitable building stone it is used, protected from the weather,

under the influence of which it perishes, by a plastering of lime. On leaving the blue

rock just above D, with the exception of a little cutting on approaching F, the profile of

the railway skims the surface or is met by shelving the rock, as between F and Gr, over

sandstone containing beds of freestone, especially one discovered a little up the mountain

side from F, where a stone eminently fitted for architectural purposes is to be had, and

available to supply a local demand which at present is met by importation.
At E was crossed one of those veins of ore easily traceable across country for miles, often

by the escarpments and ridges of the brown iron ore, offering greater resistance to the

denudating forces than the enclosing rocks on the official maps of the district, by the

mining " takes " that dot the line of strike.
THE ENDLESS CHAIN IN SPAIN. 85
Over the limestone between Gr and H the chain adapts itself to the surface line of the

route chosen to avoid cutting the extremely hard rock after very little preparation.
The present terminus of the railway at H is in the very heart of a group of only partially

explored " takes " situated on the tops of the mountains in the eastern part of the

district of G-aldames. The deposits of ore are chiefly in the cavernous limestone, and

although they were, compared to the situation of the mines nearer to the water-driven

forges, almost inaccessible, yet there are signs of the ancients having worked the

appreciated rich ore found in this limestone.
The President said, that Mr. J. T. Cackett and Mr. B. N. McLaren had prepared a very

beautiful drawing of the different systems of haulage which were exhibited at the recent

Jubilee Exhibition in Newcastle, and had presented the drawing to this Institute. It would

be framed and hung up, so that gentlemen might have an opportunity of seeing it at their

leisure. The Council had already passed a vote of thanks to these two gentlemen for their

handsome gift, in which he was sure every member would join.
This concluded the business of the meeting.
PROCEEDINGS. 87
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11th, 1888, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL,

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
J. B. SIMPSON, Esq., in the Chair.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting, and reported the proceedings of the

Council.
The following gentleman was elected having been previously nominated :—
Associate Member— Mr. Lancelot Dobinson, Hebburn Colliery, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
The following gentleman was nominated for election :—
Associate Member— Mr. Lancelot Fletcher, Marsden Colliery, South Shields.
Mr. Charles J. Murton read the following " Notes on the Tkiboulli Coal-Field (Caucasus)":—
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

L
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 89
NOTES ON THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
By CHARLES J. MURTON.
In the summer of 1886 the writer had the opportunity of visiting this coal-field, and, as

it is possible that it may some day enter into competition with the English coal now so

much used in the Black Sea, some notes may be useful.
SITUATION.
The village of Tkiboulli is on the southern slope of the Caucasian Mountains, lying almost

due east from Poti 138 versts (91 miles), and from Batoum 178 versts (118 miles), by rail.

These two towns form the termini on the Black Sea for the railway which crosses over

through Tiflis to Baku on the Caspian Sea.
At Rion Junction, a short line of some 7 versts (4| miles) connects the town of Kutai's

with the main line, from which town a branch line was being constructed to Tkiboulli at the

time of visit. This line of 38 versts (23 miles) is now completed, so that Tkiboulli is now

in direct communication with the ports of the Black Sea and the Caucasus generally. See

Plate XXII.
GEOLOGY OF DISTRICT.
Taking Tkiboulli as a centre, the Nakeral Mountains describe a semicircle, at a distance of

5^- versts (nearly 4 miles), towards the northeast. See Plate XXIII. These mountains form

an abrupt termination to the valley in which Tkiboulli lies, in the shape of an escarpment,

4,000 feet above sea level. On the south, or Tkiboulli side, the fall from the crest is for

some distance perpendicular; northwards the ground slopes gradually away.
This mass, except where capped by Cretaceous rocks, is of Jurassic or Oolitic age. The

strata at the escarpment stand out white and distinct throughout the whole semicircle. The

beds lie at a high inclination, increasing on descent to lower ground.
90 THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
Numerous streams, taking their rise from this ridge, in their quick descent have carried

down boulders of limestone, some of huge size, which lie scattered in all directions, as

well as in the beds of the streams themselves. These streams also have cut deep ravines,

showing in their channels thick beds of limestone, sandstone, this coal-seam, and, towards

the lower grounds, cutting through the many-coloured marls and shales of the Lias, a

formation continuous from here to Kutais.
By their union these streams form the Tkiboulla Eiver, which, flowing south for a little

distance, is seemingly hemmed in by the Lagory Hills, but through which it has found or

formed a natural tunnel of some two miles, joining at the other side the Kwrila, a chief

tributary to the Eion, which flows into the Black Sea at Poti.
On looking at Plates XXII. and XXIII., it is seen that the district comprised between

Kutais at one point, Kwamli at another, and Tkiboulli at another, seems to have been the

scene of a vast upheaval, which has broken and. exposed the strata now forming the

escarpments at and between these points. These are all the same limestone formation, and

traces of coal are found over an extensive line; but it is only near Tkiboulli that it is

proved to exist in any great quantity.
Near Kutais the coal, which is in two or three thin seams (3 feet), is thought by M.

Pernolet to represent a series of coaly shales, which lie above, and are separated by 500

metres from the seam at Tkiboulli, and he is of opinion that at a great depth (not less

than 500 metres) the thick seam may still be found; but the probabilities are that these

Kutais, Kwamli, and Tkiboulli coals are all the same, only in the latter case vastly

thickened.
In 1872, Captain Lipgart began working the coal near Kutais, and many others followed suit

in a small way, but the seams, thin to commence with, became so much thinner that in a few

years the works were stopped.
The following is an analysis of these coals one mile from Kutais :—
At Outcrop. 50 Yards in Seam. Per cent. Per cent.
Carbon ............ 68 ...... 76
Vol. matter ......... 1092 ...... 15
Ash ............ 20-40 ...... 12
At Coercebi, a little further off, and 50 yards from outcrop, it was :—
Per cent. Carbon ............... 45-50
Vol. matter................ 21-20
Ash ............... 23-20
Water ............... 10-00
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 91
A kind of cannel coal, called locally " Geishler," a few inches in thickness is found in

places, which the natives make into ornaments, and which takes a polish like jet. There is

a specimen of this on the table. Its analysis is:—
Per cent Carbon ... ... ... ... ... 46'95
Vol. matter and water ... ... ... 52'50
Ash.................. 0-55
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-SEAM.
At the present time this seam only need be taken into account. In the'curved basin formed

by the Nakeral range, and almost at its foot, this seam crops out in a line almost parallel

with the ridge itself, over a length of 3| miles, dipping rapidly under the mass above and

under which it must soon lie at a great depth.
It has been known for many years, but hitherto little or nothing has been done so far as

working it is concerned, owing, doubtless, to its isolated position and great difficulty of

transport. It was mentioned incidentally, and described as a seam of coal 100 ft. thick, in

the discussion on Mr. J. B. Simpson's paper on " The Coal-fields of Bussia," at a meeting

here in 1874.
From 1846 to 1850 work was carried on and the coals transported to the Black Sea and tried

on the steamers, but was then stopped. The analysis of these is given as—
12 3
Vol. matter.........42"97 ... 43-60 ... 37"90
Carbon .........47"34 ... 45-66 ... 3913
Ash ............9-69 ... 10-74 ... 22-97
Iii 1866 and 1869 many other projects were formed, and in 1874 M. Pernolet reported

exhaustively on the subject. But up to the time of the writer's visit nothing practical had

been done, although many rumours of great doings were afloat.
On Plate XXIII., at point A, where the Sabourisoulis-gali cuts it, the seam is fully

developed and shows two outcrops. South of this it thins out and probably soon becomes

worthless. But at this spot it is 90 feet thick, including bands of shale, etc. Within 57

feet there is a thickness of 44 feet of coal, for the most part hard and of good quality,

and almost all workable. It here lies at an angle of 50 degs., dipping east. A drift has

been put in and cross drifts cutting through and proving the seam. At the time of visit the

bank-side had been levelled, and the head of valley filled up preparatory to constructing

inclines.
92 THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
The following Section has been kindly supplied by Mr. F. W. North. See Plate XXIY. and page

96.
The analysis immediately above is probably of these coals,
The next outcrop is at B, Plate XXIII., which is the most notable. The stream

(Naksheris-gali) has here cut completely through the seam, and on the west side the wall

rises almost perpendicularly about 70 or 80 feet, the seams of coal and bands of shale,

comprised between thick beds of sandstone, showing the structure very clearly. It is here

about 100 feet thick, and lies at an angle of 30 degs., dipping north-east. Several short

drifts have been put in on this side for experiment and analysis. On the east side, which

has a slight slope on it, a drift has been put in, and cross drifts proving the seam.

Several workpeople had just been engaged to further extend the workings.
Another Section is taken from M. Pernolet's report. It shows the part containing workable

coal to be about 90 feet in thickness, of which 44 feet is coal; but the workable and

saleable coal itself is about 30 feet thick. See Section B, Plates XXIV. and XXVIL, and

page 97.
The. following is the analysis given in same report, the letters, etc., referring to

Section B, Plate XXIV., and again more extended in Plate XXVII.
I. Group.—Coal bad, dirty, friable, and pyritous. II. „ Coal good, witb few

bands.
III. „ Coal fairly good.
Vol. Matter. Carbon. Ash. Calorific Power.
(Pure Carbon=100.) (A. 42-0 ... 45-0 ... 13 ...

65
L\B. 37-4 ... 386 ... 24'3 ... 56
tC. 400 ... 46-7 ... 13-3 ... 66
II.] D. 46-4 ... 46-0 ... 7-6 ... 72
(E. 41-7 ... 45-0 ... 13-3 ... 65
IIl/E- 45'3 ••• 47'1 '•• 7'6 ••• 73
k '\G. 44-0 ... 46-4 ... 9-6 ,.. 69
At the point C the stream (Kribikaris-gali) has not yet cut down through the whole seam,

and so makes a waterfall of about 40 feet right over it. The coal is very hard and appears

good.
Between here and point D a few slight traces are visible, but nothing distinct. It appears

to take a sharper bend here which may betoken some slight dislocation, but the seam being

at such an angle it will probably not be of material consequence.
At the point D it is again well exposed, this time by the Tiknaris-gali. Here it is about

60 feet thick, with 28 feet of coal, of which about 20 feet may be found workable. It

lies at an angle of 40 degs., dipping
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 93
north, a drift with cross drifts having been also put in here proving the seam. See Section

D, Plate XXIV., and page 98, the letters and marks referring to specimens from respective

beds. A more extended Section at D showing the angle of the dip is given in Plate XXV.
The following is an analysis of the middle bed, by Professor Kupfer, of Moscow, which shows

well :—
Water ... ... 7'60 per cent. After drying
Carbon...... 73-11
Hyd....... 4-72
Oxy....... 9-81 „ Coke ... 68-81 per cent.
Nit....... -75 „ Vol. Mat.... 31-19
Sulphur...... -03
Ash ...... 11-58
Further westward, a few outcrops and traces are seen, but it is apparently now getting much

thinner and dying out.
The samples on the table are the shattered remains of what were brought back from the

outcrop at D. They do not at all give an adequate idea of the quality and texture of the

coal, which along its entire outcrop is remarkable for its hardness, and, except at a few

points, the absence of signs of weathering.
It is, generally speaking, a bright black coal, but sometimes cuts with a brownish tinge;

and it is only to be expected that on getting deeper the quality will improve. It ignites

quickly and burns freely, with much flame and smoke, and leaves a large proportion of ash,

but this shows little inclination to form "clinkers." It makes a coke which is easily

crushed, and, as will be seen from the analyses, is better fitted for house or gas than for

steam use.
The chief difficulties in the working of it will be the steep angle at which it lies, the

number of bands contained in it, with consequent difficulty of keeping the produce clean,

and the great depth which it must soon reach. See Plate XXVI.
On the other hand a large proportion could be worked above the levels of the various

intersecting streams; but whilst this was being done to properly win and work the coal,

shafts would have to be sunk at suitable places and stone drifts or galleries driven from

them, cutting the seam to win the coal at a lower level, which in turn would serve whilst

another still lower stretch was being prepared. Another way might answer, to make and keep

good engine planes in the seam itself, and following its dip.
If the coal was worked by one company, the best surface arrangement
94 THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
might be to bring the produce down the hill sides by endless rope inclines of 2 to 2^

versts (nearly 1| miles), converging to a point about 2 versts (lj miles) above Tkiboulli

station. From this point, as the ground is fairly level and even, a connecting branch could

easily be made, and it could then be screened and loaded direct into railway wagons.
LABOUR.
In starting any new industry to which the natives are unaccustomed, this must be an

important point. Although the district is thinly populated and by a poor peasantry, the

attraction of permanent employment would soon bring together the strongest and best of them

from long distances, especially those from the hilly grounds further north in the Eatcha

district. They would be found willing and quick to learn, and steady workers (with

intervals, however, for their somewhat numerous holy days). Joiners could be made out of

native material, but mechanics, hewers, and other skilled labour would have to be imported

or taught by imported hands.
It would also be necessary to erect houses for them, although scarcely in so substantial a

way as is customary hereabouts. Probably one room of wood or wood and rubble to hold ten or

twelve each.
Of wood, chiefly chestnut, there is a great but diminishing abundance in close proximity to

each outcrop. Good building lime can be made on the spot, and sandstone quarried.
The price of labour is somewhat as follows:—Boys and women, 5d. to 7d. per day; surface

labourers of all kinds, Is. 2d. to Is. 8d.; underground, including hewers, Is. lOd. to 2s.

As little grain is grown in the neighbourhood, harvest time would not greatly affect these

prices, and they would be lessened when engaged by the month, as would be the case.
COMMERCIAL AND FUTURE.
The fact of the Russian Government having guaranteed 6 per cent, to the promoters of the

Tkiboulli branch line, and its construction being now an accomplished fact, seems a proof

that it strongly believes in the value and usefulness of this coal-seam. The railway itself

has solely the prospective carriage of the produce to depend upon for any remunerative

income; and the expenditure must have been, and working expense will be, very heavy, it

being a well constructed single line, with substantial stations, but, owing to the nature

of the ground, with some steep gradients, and formidable embankments and cuttings. It

passes through a poorly populated agricultural district. At the present time three trains

per week are being run, the engines using coal got from outcrop at B.
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 95
By the heavy protective duties successively laid on foreign coals, and prospects of more to

follow, the Government seems determined to make itself independent of outside aid. The

duty, which is now about 6s. lOd. a ton, has had the effect of greatly lessening the

foreign imports into Odessa, and a great increase in the output from the Donetz coal-field.

English coal imports in 1884 were 309,275 tons; 1885, 193,850 tons; 1886,117,853 tons;

1887,47,899 tons; Azoff, 1887,103,000 tons. Several new pits on a large scale are being

sunk in the Donetz district, and new companies being formed; and although low prices still

prevail, there are great expectations of better things, owing to the many schemes set forth

for lessening the lighterage charges, etc., which are very excessive; besides which the Sea

of Azoff is closed three months of the year by ice. One project is the making into a good

port Mariopol, and this is being done rapidly. The coal is of very good quality, but

scarcely equal, as it is claimed to be, to Cardiff or Newcastle.
Up to the present the principal effect of these duties has been to increase the cost to the

general consumer; but the policy only needs to be rigorously carried out—as it will be, no

matter at what general inconvenience and cost—to fully develop the field, and this result

will as likely follow in the case of the Tkiboulli coal. Here the carriage from the mines

to Poti or Batoum will not exceed 4s. 3d. per ton; freightage to Odessa, 4s. 6d.;

transhipments, etc., 3s.; so that this coal could enter the market at a much lower figure

than either the English at 24s. average, or Donetz at 21s. 6d. At the same time the quality

is not equal to either of these, so lesser prices would necessarily have to be taken. At

Batoum the present price of English coal is 32s. to 34s. per ton, and Donetz 27s. In Odessa

Cardiff is now selling at 37s., Newcastle 34s., and Donetz 29s., but these prices are

exceptional, owing to severe weather and scarcity of coal in port.
Besides Odessa, Constantinople, and other much smaller markets round the coast, there would

be a small local consumption for railways, and a few industries, whilst others might be

developed.
There is another easily accessible coal-field on the coast of the Black Sea, that of

Heraclea, or Eurekli, belonging to the Turkish Government, and of which a description is

given in Vol. III. of the Transactions by Mr. Longridge; but it is as yet undeveloped,

although close to the coast. It is about 120 miles to the east of Constantinople.
A formidable competitor may appear in the oil from Baku. This trade is developing so

rapidly that the railway, with its heavy gradients at Souram, is quite unable to transport

it, together with their ordinary
VOL. XXXVT1.—1888,

M
96 THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
traffic. At present the oil is carried in tank-waggons and stored at Batoum, whence most of

it is taken by steamers specially constructed and owned by the Russian Navigation Company

to Odessa. A project for laying a pipe line a part or the whole of the distance (800

versts=533 miles) has long been talked of; but now the concession has been granted to the

railway company, so that in a few years there will be an enormous supply of petroleum

available. This will probably affect the use of coal on coasting steamers, but not

ocean-going. The pipe line is to be of 8 inch pipes, with screwed joints. Starting near

Baku it will go straight across country for first half of distance, then will be alongside

the railway to Batoum. There will be 24 pumping stations connected by telegraph. The

quantity of oil brought into Odessa in 1815 was 19,353 tons; in 1886, 40,332 tons.
In connection with the Tkiboulli Railway there is one other point perhaps worth

considering. A command of the Black Sea is of vital importance to Russia, and the Black Sea

fleet is being greatly augmented. In the event of war breaking out, or such like

contingencies, by means of this new line there could be immediately brought into use a

large supply of cheap coal in addition to the supply drawn from the Donetz field, already

in extensive operation; so that, apart from any strictly commercial value, the railway and

coal may be of great military value.
Other specimens on the table are limestone and chert, iron-ore and
lead-ore from Ratcha, and maganese from Kurila, where it is extensively
worked.
Section at A.
Ft. In. Ft. In. Ft. In. Ft.

In.
1 COAL ..0 6 Brought forward 24

10 12 4
2. Parting !" ... 4 0 19. COAL ...... 3

0
3 COAL ...... 0 6 20. Parting ......

0 4
4. Parting ...... 3 4 21. COAL ...... 4 6
5 COAL ...... 4 6 22. Parting ......

0 2
6. Parting ...... 1 0 23. COAL ...... 2 0
7 COAL ...... 2 6 24. Parting ... ...

0 2
8. Parting ...... 1 6 25. COAL ...... 4 9
9 COAL ...... 1 0 26. Parting ......

0 6
10. Parting ...... 0 1 27. COAL ...... 3 0
11 COAL ...... 9 6 28. Parting ......

0 2
12. Parting ...... 0 3 29. COAL ...... 2 5
13. COAL ...... 1 5-------------------
14. Parting ...... 0 2 COAL ......44 6

12 8
15. COAL ... ... 2 4 Spoil

......12 8
16. Parting ...... 0 9
17. COAL ...... 2 7
18. Parting ...... 0 3

~~
_____------- Total......57 2
Carried forward 24 10 12 4
THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 97
Section at B (Simplified feom M. Peknolet's).
Analyses Group. Letters.

Ft. In. Ft. In.
f 1. Sandstone
, j 2. Shale and coal ... ... ... ... ... ...

33
j 3. COAL, very friahie...............5 2
I 4. Shale ..........., ......... 3 3
T J f 5, COAL, friable ...............4 5
I n J 6. Shale, hard .................. 3 1
u- 1 7. COAL, good..................0 10
[_ 8. COAL and shale ............... 5 7
C. 9. COAL, good..................2 3
/10. Shale, very hard ... ... ... ... ...

64
11. Clay ..................... 1 3
12. COAL, hard..................2 0
" j) j 13. COAL and shale ............... 0 5
I 14. COAL, very friable...............2 6
| 15. Shale ... " .................. 0 7
i 16. COAL, hard, with pyrites ............ 1 0
II. < Ll7. Shale ..................... 10
fl8. COAL, good..................1 4
19. COAL, dirty..................0 11
20. Shale ... ' .................. 1 4
E j 21. COAL, good and bright ............ 3 3
| 22. COAL, rather dull ...............4 7
J 23. Shale ..................... 1 1
j 24. COAL, traces of pyrites ............ 3 3
L25. Sandstone and shale ... ... ... ... ...

8 9
r26. COAL, dull and friable ............ 2 3
I 27. Clayey shale .................. 0 8
r ;p < 28. COAL, very hard ............... 1 7
I 29. COAL and shale ............... 0 7
30. COAL, good but friable ......' ...... 1 7
131. COAL and shale ............... 0 4
r32. COAL.....................1 0
j 33. Shale .................... 0 3
34. COAL.....................0 7
III I I 35- Shale ..................... ° 3
'] Q j 36, COAL, hard, slightly pyritous ......... 2 5
37. Shale ...... "............... 0 10
38. COAL..................... 1 0
39. COAL and shale ............... 2 6
40. COAL, scaly..................2 4
-41. Shale, with coal ... ... ... ... ...

4 8
^ H. 42. Shales, with thin beds of coal, sandstones, and clays 49

3
43. Sandstone, hard.
44 3 46 0 46 0
Total coal-bearing ,.. ... 90 3
49 3
Total between the thick beds of sandstone ... 139 6
98 DISCUSSION—THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
Section at D.
Samples Samples
Marked Ft. In. Ft. In. Marked

Ft. In. Ft. In.
1. Sandstone ... Brought forward 20

0 5 8
A 1. 2. COAL ... 3 6 28. COAL, soft

0 10
1. 3. Band, clay ... 3 0 X 2. 29. Band clay ...

0 8
4. COAL, coarse 17 X 3. 30. COAL ... 0 6
5. Band, clay ... 1 0 31. Band ...

0 1
6. ( COAL, hard 1 6 32. COAL ... 0 4
2. 7. \ Black band ... 02 33. Band, iron-
8. ( COAL ... 0 7 stone ...

0 2
9. Band ... 0 1 X 4. 34. COAL ... 1

0
3. 10. COAL ... 1 7 35. Sandstone ...

2 0
11. Band ... 0 1 36. COAL ...

0 3
12. COAL ... 0 2 37. Band ...

2 0
13. Band ... 0 1 38. COAL ...

0 10
14. COAL ... 0 4 39. Band ...

2 0
15. Band ... 0 1 40. COAL ...

0 7
4. 16. COAL, hard 3 0 41. Sandstone ...

7 0
5. 17. COAL, hard 1 2 42. COAL,coarse 0

9
18. Band ... 0 2 43. Bands ...

8 0
19. COAL ... 0 2 44. COAL ... 1 0
20. Band ... 0 1 45. Band ...

10
21. COAL ... 0 4 X5. 46. COAL,coarse 1 6
22. Band ... 0 1 47. Sandstone ...
23. COAL ... 0 5-------------------
24. Band ... 0 2

27 7 28 7
6. 25. COAL, good 3 0

28 7 XI. 26. COAL, bad... 2 8
27. Band, clay ... 0 8

-------
------------------- Total......56 2
Carried forward 20 0 5 8 -------
Mr. William Cochrane said, he would be glad if the writer of the paper could give them an

idea of the calorific value of the coal he had described in comparison with our

Carboniferous coal. It was evident, it there was only 45 per cent, carbon in the Tkiboulli

coal as compared with 65 to 75 per cent, in our Carboniferous coal, it would require at

least one ton and a half of the coal to give out the same effect as one ton of our

carboniferous coal. This would be a very serious item in connection with Mr. Murton's first

statement in his paper, that the Tkiboulli coal-field " may some day enter into competition

with the English coal now so much used in the Black Sea," since the use of this coal would

involve a serious matter in the way of bunker room in steamers. According to Mr. Murton,

the cost of taking this coal to Odessa would be lis. 9d.; taking this coal to have

one-third less calorific value than our coal, this would run the price up to 17s. 8d. for

the transport alone. He (Mr. Cochrane) considered that the expenses of working the coal

would render it, probably, not a very strong competitor considering the increased value of

our English coal. He saw that in only one case was it stated that carbon was present to the

extent of 73 per cent., which was a
DISCUSSION—THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS). 99
nearer approach to that of the Northumberland coal. This seam would probably become later

of very great commercial importance to the Black Sea district, and might be used for some

purposes, but not in competition, he thought, with English coals in the world's

markets—purely for local purposes.
Mr. Murton said, there was no doubt that the Tkiboulli coal was not equal to the English

coal, and could not command the same price ; but the Russian Government were showing such a

firm determination to put increased duties on coal—if the present duties were not

sufficient to develop their own coal-fields—that be thought that in the end our coal trade

would suffer. The Russian Government seemed to be determined to make themselves quite

independent of outside help. In the open market he thought these coals could not compete

with English coals.
Professor Lebour said, Mr. Murton's paper was very interesting from a geological point of

view. He regretted that Mr. Murton had not exhibited some fossils by which he could have

proved the age of the beds. But fortunately there was very little doubt as to this. He had

with him a map, made for the Russian Government by General Steinmann, which showed the beds

in the Caucasus; in fact, it was a part of the geological map of the country. He (Professor

Lebour) had brought down two other numbers of the same publication, in which were plates of

fossils from these very deposits, which might be taken as specimens of those likely to be

found at Tkiboulli; and they indicated, without any doubt at all, the age of these beds. It

was particularly interesting to find these coals in the same series as the moorland coal of

Yorkshire. He had himself, in Austria, seen several thin seams arranged pretty much as

these were, and grouped in the same beds. It would seem as if in going eastwards, the

conditions became more and more terrestrial until India was reached. This was, no doubt, a

kind of link between the Oolitic coals of the east and the west. He had taken great

interest in Mr. Murton's paper, especially as Mr. Murton was an old student of the College;

and he was glad to say that this was not by any means the first valuable paper which had

come from old students of the College.
Mr. Murton said, that at the time he went to the place he could not put the cost of working

above 7s. a ton, so that there was a very large margin still between what it would cost at

Odessa and the price of English coal.
The Chairman—Can it be worked continuously during all the year ?
Mr. Murton—Yes. In the winter time the working is not stopped much, but there are several

holidays in the district.
100 DISCUSSION—THE TKIBOULLI COAL-FIELD (CAUCASUS).
The Chairman—In the Donetz coal-field work is stopped about six months in the year.
Mr. Murton—They are stopped in the Donetz for three months, as the Sea of Azov is frozen,

and everything is at a standstill. At Tkiboulli they will be able to work from the

beginning of the year to the end.
The Chairman said it was very interesting to have a description of coal-fields in other

parts of the world. Every one must feel that in Eussia especially there were very large

districts of coal which would, in time, come very largely into competition with this

country. He proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Murton for his paper.
Mr. W. Cochrane seconded the motion ; and it was agreed to.
Professor Stroud read the following paper by Professor A. S. Herschel, " On an Improved

Form of Seismoscope :"—
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE. 101
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE.
By Professor A. S. HERSCHEL, D.C.L., F.R.S.
In the Report presented on November 26th to the Council of the Mining Institute by Mr. M.

Walton Brown, on Automatic Records obtained with an ingenious form of Seismoscope at

Marsden, during the months from October, 1886, to April, 1887, a defective action of the

instrument in indicating, apparently, incessant vibratory motion at the station for days,

weeks, and even for a whole month together, must, it would seem, be due to permanent

departures of the tremor indicator from its neutral point, either produced by adhesion

between the tremor-pointer and the mercury globule with which it comes in contact, or by

slow heelings of the whole instrument from time to time from its normal vertical position.

The latter seems to be the real explanation, since the platinum pointed indicator is not

amalgamated, and has, therefore, no natural tendency to cling to the little drop of mercury

in the dimple of which it oscillates when the instrument is disturbed.
All seismoscopes of the pendulum form, the neutral position of whose indicator relative to

the supporting base is fixed by gravity, are liable to this defect from small unavoidable

distortions of the frame and feet of the pendulum, when left for months to themselves in

positions of varying atmospheric conditions; and yet no means of obtaining approximate

astaticism and return to a neutral point otherwise than by neutralising gravity by various

means, especially with pendulums, appears yet to have been attempted.
The object of the present contrivance is to make the neutral point of the indicator, on and

relative to the supporting base, independent of gravity for its position, and, therefore,

unexposed to change by any slow motions of flexure or yielding in the support. The first

suggestion for
102 ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE.
this purpose which presented itself was that of a shallow saucer of mercury, in which a

vane, movable about a fulcrum fixed to the saucer or support, and bearing a long slender

index, should dip. Owing to the mercury's inertia, every horizontal jolt of the saucer

carrying the vane will produce a pressure upon the vane, and move the index from some

position made normally neutral to it relative to the base, by means of a spiral

hair-spring, or other means of keeping it naturally steady in one fixed position. Slow

movements of the mercury, due to gradual heeling of the base, will be ineffective on the

vane and index, the slender strength of the directing spring being quite able to resist the

weak pressures which slow motions of the liquid can impress upon the vane. But mercury or

liquid, in any form of shallow dish, has its own natural oscillation period like a

pendulum; and if this should happen to coincide with the oscillation period of an

earthquake tremor, the liquid is not more suitable to record the motion than a pendulum of

the same period would be, since it would, like a pendulum of the same period, accompany the

dish and the vane exactly in their oscillations. To make an instrument of this kind

thoroughly detective, instead of being placed upon the solid base, the mercury dish must

itself be suspended astatically. But here the usual astatic pendulum combinations are

easily available, since although their neutral position depends on the support's stability,

yet as this is only the neutral point of the mercury and dish, its slow variations are

unable to affect the plaoe of rest of the vane and indicator, since these are secured from

such slow actions by the slender power of the directing spring.
The simple form of astatic suspension of the mercury cup here used occurred to the writer a

year or two ago, but its properties presenting difficulties of theoretical investigation,

its excellent suitability for seis-moscopic suspension was neglected, and it is with some

little difficulty that the mathematical rules of its construction have been now determined,

so as to be able to assign the right proportions of its rods and wires required to produce

exact neutrality, and make the suspension perfectly astatic. It consists of two parallel

horizontal bars, AB, CD, one suspended underneath the other, by means of two strings

„ of equal length attached to the ends of the bars, and &"!><^ crossing each

other in the middle between them like a ^~ ~—_^. letter X. The middle point of

the lower bar, when in swinging motion describes a curve, which is either concave or

convex, upwards, or can be made nearly a straight horizontal line by varying the lengths of

the supporting strings. If a weight is hung to the middle
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE. 103
point of the lower bar, it will be instable or unstable or in neutral equilibrium in these

three cases; and a process of mathematical treatment by approximation shows that if a is

the inclination of the strings to the horizon, a and c the lengths of the upper and lower

bars, the state of equilibrium in the symmetrical position is
stable, ] > /~~
neutral, or > according as tan a is = /(i. unstable, 1

V c
In the figure here given, the lower rod c is twice as long as the upper
one a, and therefore — = 0*5, and J — = 0*7 nearly. If, therefore,
a = 35° 16', or tan a — 07, as in the figure, a weight suspended from the middle of the

lower rod will be suspended astatically as regards
motion endwise in the direction of the rod. But if _____a, ~ 2
C D is the upper, and A B = ^ C D the lower rod, <X /
the position of the lower rod will now be one of \. /
neutral equilibrium, if tan a = x/2~ = 1*4, or \{
a = 54° 44', as in the adjoining figure, longer / \
strings being required in this case than in the c = I
former one to make the construction an astatic one.
If the two rods are of exactly equal length, then — = 1, and I - = 1,
and the lower rod will be astatically suspended if tan a = 1, or a == 45°. In this case

the two rods and the two 'i\y "~7?
strings form the two opposite sides and the two <2«4$c^v/ j diagonals of an exactly square

arrangement. It is a ! >/\. i
preferable one to either of the other two constructions' £ =^»
as the range along which the middle point of the lower rod moves, nearly in a straight

horizontal line, is larger than in those other cases; and this simple construction is

therefore a very convenient one for obtaining suspension, as free from friction and as

astatic as any that can be chosen for use, in the inexpensive class of instruments known as

seismoscopes, or earthquake detectors.
Instead of straight rods, two flat boards, or long planks (of which the above figures would

only show the cross sections), may be suspended one astatically from the other by means of

strings crossing each other, as in the above figures, between their edges, one such pair of

strings being used near each end of the two planks ; and so long as an end-view of the

strings and planks, looking lengthwise along the latter, presents the appearance of any of

the above figures, the strings need not form pairs,
VOL. XXXTII.-1888.

N
104: ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE.
each pair belonging to some one cross section of the boards, but may be all in different

cross sections, or variously oblique to such cross sections. But in the oblique directions

which they may have, they must together pull, in the direction of its length, oppositely

upon the lower board, so as to hold it at rest lengthwise ; and they must be so distributed

along the lower plank's length as to be able to carry its weight collected at its centre of

gravity. Not only the board itself, but any weight suspended from it along its middle line

will also, supposing the board to be weightless, and that the strings are properly

distributed to support these weights, all be found to be astatically supported if they are

moved together breadthwise across the plank. They will not tend—that is to say, to return

very sensibly (unless the displacement is a considerable one)— towards the position of

normal rest from which they are displaced. These generalisations of the construction afford

useful means of applying it practically, because two crossed strings only, tending

naturally to hang in one plane, rub against each other and form an unsensitive suspension ;

but with one string crossed by two strings contact between the suspending strings can be

avoided without in the least involving the astatic condition or perturbing the above very

simple rules of magnitude which are needed to obtain it. Suspending strings, also, along

the edges of two planks can be kept separate so as not to rub against each other ; and if

they are inclined to the edges, some towards one and some towards the other ends of the

planks, so as to pull lengthwise oppositely upon the lower one, that plank will be unable

to oscillate lengthwise, and can only move in an astatic way parallel to itself from
side to side.

___—------'~~~~~~ZZ^~--=sm°
From any two points in the centre line of ^=:^^^^^J~~^==» the lower plank (or board

or light frame) a =;^^^\
pair of crossed suspending strings, carrying a '<=:^Zx?C~^S^'
rod below it parallel to the centre line, can be ifJWry
used, capable, therefore, of moving astatically ""ULiUK
lengthwise, while by the freedom of the upper attachment points of the strings to move in

neutral equilibrium across that direction no solicitations of gravity can make it oscillate

from side to side, and it is, therefore, as neutral in its equilibrium towards one

direction as towards the other. A weight suspended from its centre point will be in the

same state of indifference to oscillation in any direction; and this is the construction

used in the form of seismoscope here proposed for giving the cup of mercury (or of any

other liquid) a kind of suspension, which can easily be made as perfectly astatic as

required.
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE. 105
Other modes of using the principle, as shown in the \

v
annexed figures, may, how- j~K \ ^^>d^^^
ever, also be resorted to. In ^ \ ^^l_^^^
that consisting merely of ^k ^-. X^ ^x
two rods hung one below the y^^h \m
other, transverse to each Zll^V /lV^
other, with an intervening ZlLA w^M
hooked frame between them, tOP *ULJP
the use of spreading wires
to avoid contact, and friction between them, may be _^^______
avoided by giving single suspending wires a slight N. • twist in the same

direction in each crossing wire, suffi- )*C
cient to resist their tendency to hang both in the same /l^-e* plane from the points

of suspension. With fine steel ^5^^ crossing wires this moderate twist will

preserve itself \^
indefinitely, and this form of the contrivance, as the "^sX
annexed figure shows, then becomes of the utmost XA^-
simplicity. W$m
In the other construction, figured with a single plate or frame, and suspension points of

unequal heights, a crossed arrangement is given to the obliquities of each spreading pair

of strings, by which freedom to oscillate laterally is given to the suspended frame ; but

its equilibrium is at the same time made neutral in that new direction, and is, therefore,

neutral in both transverse directions, and in every direction in which the frame's

displacement may occur. The suspension points of one of the crossed pairs of spreading

strings is made lower than those of the other pair, in order to separate the strings in one

pair from contact with those in the other. This does >
not preclude making the equilibrium m 2| \
the principal crossing direction of the two a ,\ n.
pairs neutral as easily as when the two \ \.
pairs' suspension points are both on the ij a\B \^
same level, for it deserves notice that for a °fZ c "x <*)\/b
constant equal inclination (a) to the hori- ! \~ia<*- a/D
zon, of two crossing strings, as A0 D0, B0 C0 a ! q /\ Z
in the figure, carrying a horizontal bar, C D, '/\ c > °
at their feet of a constant length (c), the C AA A/P3 condition that this bar's

state of equilibrium C /_4—y't)4 may be neutral is the same in all such modes /'

]/ of suspending it as A0 D0 C0 B0, A2 Da 0j B0,
106 ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE.
A2 D2 02 B0, etc., where the points of suspension XjLqj -A-l^ -^-2? 6LC«j tile all on the

same vertical line, as the requisite one above given, which determines the relations for

the figure in the level position A0 B0 of the
two points of suspension, viz., tan a = / -, if we simply observe to
denote always by a the distance in a horizontal direction between the two points of

suspension, A and B, while c is the length of the horizontally suspended bar. This general

form of the astatic relation affords a rather wide choice of different ways of using it,

among which the above examples are selected as being the most obviously convenient and

simple ones.
Next to astaticism of the trough of liquid, easy mobility of the tremor-recording blade or

vane which dips into the liquid, and which carries the long contact-making pointer round a

fulcrum borne solidly on the frame of the apparatus, is of the greatest importance to the

instrument's proper action. The blade must also receive pressure equally from the liquid's

motions in whatever direction they occur, and must move with equal ease on its fulcrum

towards any one of these directions. A circular hoop-like blade, quite immersed in the

liquid, as shown in the accompanying drawing of the instrument, fulfils best the first of

these conditions, and a pin-point bearing of the most frictionless kind, not liable to be

easily unseated from its socket by earth-jolts and tremors of the latter, offers a means

adopted in this instrument for satisfying the second of those two conditions. The principle

used for holding the pivot-point of the light indicator steady in its socket is as follows

(see Plate XXI.):—
A helical wire spring, when strongly drawn out or compressed in length in direction of its

axis, does not thereby lose sensibly any of its original easy flexibility and pliability

across its axis, although exerting a rapidly increasing force along the axial direction

when the extension or compression is increased. The latter force arises from combined

torsion and flexure of the wire throughout its length, by which the loops of its spiral

coil are all brought nearer to or removed further from each other than they were before,

and it increases in strength very nearly in proportion as this torsional and flexural

deformation is increased. But if in this state the spring is bent, its loops widen their

distances from each other on one side, and contract them on the other; more twisting of the

wire occurring to produce increase, and an equal untwisting to produce decrease of the

existing distortion in opposite halves of each spiral turn or loop of the wire

simultaneously. The extreme flexibility which a helix spring exhibits when this relation is

perfectly fulfilled can be easily observed by compressing and then tying together the two

ends of such a
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEESMOSCOPE. 107
spring by an inextensible string along its axis, which prevents the two spring-ends

effectually from changing their distance from each other. The loops of the spiral then

receive with extreme ease any relative lateral displacements, being really in unstable

equilibrium with each other by reason of the slight increases of length which the axis

effectively receives by any flexures which the spring's form undergoes between its ends. If

the upper end of such a compressed spring is secured to the frame of the seismoscope, and

the lower end presses down the bearing-pin of the indicator against its socket, being

firmly attached there to the pivot, if the length and compression of the spring are at the

same time not so great as to cause the spring to bulge and fly out to one side, advantage

may be taken of the unstable forces of the spring's pressure which are ready to act, to

overcome the spring's natural stiffness and resistance to flexure at its lower end,

especially by so weakening the spring towards that end either by tapering its wire or web,

or by narrowing its coil, that bendings of the coil produced by oscillations of the cap may

begin there sooner than in any other part of the spring, and may so bring the bulging

forces of the compression to keep that end in a nearly unstable or practically neutral

state or equilibrium. No exact adjustment of any sheet or wire spring of this kind to

render the pivot point which it presses and is fastened to, just neutral in its

equilibrium, can very well be fashioned and produced, except by trial; but a conical wire

spring having its point downwards and fastened to the cap, especially if a short part of

its narrow end is nearly cylindrical, may be found without doubt to produce easily enough,

when attached as described and pressed down from above, both the desired pressure on the

pivot and a balance of the required delicacy round a position of rest of very slight

stability. The counterpoising knob over the pivot cap allows gravity's directing force to

be removed entirely before affixing the spring, two little side arms being added for

laterally balancing the weight, so that the indicator always takes up, by the action of the

spring alone, a constant neutral position relative to the instrument and its base. To

adjust this place of rest of the contact wire to the dimple in the mercury, a rough

adjustment by help of the pivot and spring carrier in two directions (with the handles c

and h in the drawings) is provided, and a more delicate final one by means of the movable

hair-spring h surrounding and retaining the wire in a permanent position from any small

variations due to flexures in the frame and spring which may accidentally arise. It is,

however, on this last spring close to the mercury dimple that it is intended to make the

wire's place of repose depend as ex-
108 'ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE.
clusively as possible, because there is less room for warping distortions of the structure

between the guiding spring and the mercury drop m, than between the mercury drop and the

upper directing spring near the pivot-point of the indicator. It is, therefore, the main

object of this instrument's construction, after the directing power of gravity has been

removed by help of the astatic liquid trough and by counterpoising the indicator very

perfectly, to make the spring used to hold the pin-point in its socket, which is the only

other guiding force in action, as free from directive influence upon the indicator (except

such as tends as permanently and steadily as may be towards the mercury drop) as good and

fitting means can possibly be found to make it. It is owing to the unsteadiness and easy

variability of such weak directive force as it is liable to develop, that suspension of the

indicator by means of four stretched wires, and counterpoising it round their point of

attachment to it, is for the present abandoned, but it may, perhaps, still be found

possible to adopt this plan, and in that case a great simplification would be gained, and

the use of a spring-bound pivot-point might be dispensed with.
Besides a compressed conical spring, other means of using spring pressure to retain the

light indicator freely against its pivoting point are shown in the side view (Fig. 2, Plate
XXI.) of the instrument, in Fig. 5, .^X-^
and especially in Fig. 6. That shown r\^^^^?
in Fig. 2, and better in Fig. 6, of W_^fl ' jflf
producing the downward pressure by a S2S -----------¦—•r"3^>>
downward extended conical or parallel- I—' Arffi/ynu^Mtith.
sided thin wire spring appears to be of |fffrmC_. _J>mfl
all the methods the simplest and the IP J [||j|
best, since the upper end of the wire at ^UL^ ^_^JP^
the conical point, or open top, of the spring can be passed as a hook through
a smooth eyehole of the pointer at its base, or in an arch across a knife edge of its

stirrup there (see Fig. 6), pulling it without rigidity or friction directly downwards

towards the mercury drop, or towards any desired point in the base of the instrument, for

setting the spring to draw towards which correctly, means of adjusting it easily at its

lower point of fast-attachment are provided.
It should be noticed that to retain the light indicator with really perfect neutrality of

turning in all directions against a perfectly fixed pin-point socket, where even its

counterpoised weight must purposely be v made so light that it cannot be certainly

relied upon to keep it, recourse
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF SEISMOSCOPE. 109
to an astatic contrivance for applying the spring pressure, like the fine wire-connected

plates shown in the adjoining figure—somewhat similar in their mode of action to those

already described for suspension of the liquid vessel—is theoretically indispensable. All

the modes of using a spring which have been figured (except the compressed conical one) are

only approximate substitutes for such a jointed structure, because the spring's point of

attachment to the pointer can never coincide actually with the pin-point centre of its

motion, and must therefore always produce some oscillation of the pointer round a neutral

direction. In the constructions last mentioned (Figs. 2 and 6), however, the eyehole in the

base of the pointer may be brought almost as close to the pin-point in the indicator cap as

we please, leaving room in the pointer's stirrup-arch for a very small-drawn socket-holder

only, well fastened to the pillars of the instrument, to introduce itself between them. All

needful nicety and ease of construction seems, therefore, to be very well attained by that

arrangement. (See Fig. 6.)
The counterpoising knob g and cap d of the indicator may be made of brass; but the ribs d,

f, to resist attacks of mercury, if it is used, must be thin steel watch-spring pinched to

corrugate it, except at the ends where the pivot cap and the mica hoop-blade are riveted to

them— the latter with iron rivets. The hoop form of the mica blade will give it much

stiffness, though as light and thin as paper, and its ends will be bound together by the

same rivets which secure one of the steel ribs to it. Its buoyancy in mercury will nearly

counterpoise the indicator's weight, and will not alter, by inclination of the instrument,

for any liquid used if the blade's submergence in the liquid is complete. With olive oil,

or glycerine, or treacle (oil covered) also, whose viscosity will contribute as much as the

weight of mercury to the blade's impressibility, no sensible changes of the neutral point

are likely to be produced with the instrument's small variations from the vertical by

capillary action of the liquid surface on the slender ribs where they are wetted by it.
The liquid cup may conveniently be the bottom part (cut off) of a round glass bottle, with

a central hole ground through it, into which a short straight piece of wide glass tube is

cemented; and four holes in the rim of the cup serve for its attachment to the hooked rider

hanging by a frictionless knife-edge from a knife-edged notch in the middle of the lowest

pendulum bar, as Figure 2 of the apparatus shows. The frame junctions at E and F are also

knife-edged notch bearings in the meeting edges of the frames, allowing very free rotation

of one frame upon the other. Small steel split rings passing through well smoothed holes in

the edges of the frames form equally frictionless means of suspending the
110 ON AN IMPEOVED FORM OF SEISMORCOPE.
frames at those points, by their crossing wires tied to the rings. Four steel pegs with

well smoothed eyeholes, carrying similar rings, can be inserted in the top-board of the

case at AA', CC, and made to pass through it to its upper side, where they can be drawn in

or out to adjust the level of the upper pendulum frame. Platinum or fine steel wire may be

used for the suspensions; but the latter will probably be found preferable for its

inextensibility. The four wires of the upper frame having to be all of exactly equal

lengths, may be made so by forming small loop ends upon them round two round wire pegs

fixed at the proper length from each other on a slab of wood, these loop ends being then

slipped into the split rings.
The proper lengths for the three wires of the lower pendulum being properly determined,

pegs similarly set in wood at the right distances from each other, two of the wire lengths

for this lower swing carriage being equal to each other, can be formed in the same way upon

one of the pairs, and the remaining unequal length upon the other pair of pegs. The bars of

the frames, BD, EK, HL, should be made of thin hoop steel, with their underneath edges

turned over to render them inflexible.
The four leading principles adopted and attempted to be carried out practically in

Professor HerscheVs non-gravitating electric Seismoscope are:
1. Tremor indication by means of the inertia and viscosity of a liquid
acting on a sensitively mounted paddle blade.
2. Motionless or astatic suspension of the trough of liquid by a lattice
arrangement of parallel frames or tars, suspended singly or from each other by crossed

aires.
3. Confining the pivot-point of an exactly counterpoised light indicat-
ing blade and pointer to its fixed socket fulcrum by spring pressure, either quite

neutrally or with only the least sensible directing force tending constantly to any desired

fixed point in the base or pedestal of the instrument.
4. Retention of the pointer's neutral position constantly and exactly
at the desired spot by a flat spiral hair-spring fixed to a part of the instrument's base

or pedestal, in close proximity to the said spot.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXI.
AB, A'B'.—Left hand pair of crossed wires, out of contact with each other by suitable
points of attachment. CD, CD'.—Right hand pair of do.; points of attachment symmetrical to

those of the
left hand pair. BDD'B' (Figs. 1, 2, 3).—Thin rectangular frame of narrow hoop steel, with

lower
edges bent inwards. Small smooth holes for wires or rings in the top edge
at B, D, B', D', and two knife-edged notches in the same edge, at E. F.
ON AN IMPROVED FORM OP 8EISMOSCOPB. 111
GG'K (Figs. 1, 2, 3).—Hooked steel blade with knife-edged notches at E, F, and a stiffened

cross piece of angle steel at GG. Small smooth holes in the lower edges of do., at GG'K.
GH, G'H (Figs. 1,2, 3).—Pair of suspending wires, crossed by the single wire KL, to carry

the bar LMH. The latter is a hoop-steel blade with two small smooth holes at K, L, and a

knife-edged notch at M, at its upper edge.
ale (Figs. 1 and 4).—Brass indicator support; c, hinged part of do., with a socket hole for

pivot on top part of its hinge, and conical wire spring g attached by hole and peg to cap d

of indicator, and to battery wire binding screw at c; h, handle to rotate the support and

indicator.
defg (Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5),—Brass table cap of indicator d, with light brass bridge foot de of

contact wire eM; four pinched watch-spring ribs df, riveted with soft iron to a thin mica

hoop ff; g, a brass counterpoise knob and two small brass wing blades on a screw stem

carried by the cap.
NOPQ (Figs. 1, 2).—Cylindrical glass cup with glass tube passing vertically through the

central hole PQ; four holes drilled at 11, near its upper edge, to receive suspending wires

IM, hanging it from a knife-edged rider hook M (Fig. 2).
mn (Fig. 2).—Brass draw-tube and turning knob for varying the lower fixture of the spiral

spring ne, and battery connecting screw to the spiral spring; Jc (Fig. 1), adjustable

spiral hair-spring to retain the index point M in the mercury dimple.
Fig. 5.—The spiral spring ce, fixed at the top to a hole in the handle c, and resting also

at the top against the under side a of the slit brass draw-tube ah, which is supported by

the frame, surrounds the stirrup or bridge foot de of the contact wire. Across its lower

end is stretched a short wire, through the bridge de, from the middle of which a vertical

wire draws up the lower end of the spring to a cross peg of the bridge or stirrup, just

underneath the draw-tube a ; the latter has on its upper side a socket plate at a, for the

pin-point of the indicator.
Fig. 6 represents the most efficient practical mode of applying a spiral thin wire spring

to keep the pivot-point d of the indicator, by its pressure, steadily seated and centred in

the fixed socket a. The bridge or stirrup piece de, to which the pointer or contact wire is

attached below, is narrow in both its horizontal dimensions, and made of thin sheet brass,

so that it is easily contained within the open top of the stretched spiral spring ne. A

small copper crupper, or smoothly rounded notch, rests, notch upwards, on the foot of the

stirrup, being soldered to it to ensure electric contact. The upper end of the spiral

spring forms a horizontal wire ring surrounding the stirrup. From one end of a diameter of

this ring, passing through the opening of the stirrup, to the other, a short arch of copper

wire is stretched, spanning over the crupper notch of copper on the stirrup foot, and

resting on it, so as to apply the pressure of the stretched spring to it, and to make

electric contact with the wire pointer. The piece a in which the socket-hole is made is a

short slight rod of hard steel projecting from the more solid brass rod h, so that the

copper notch and steel pivot-point d can be brought very near together. The spiral spring

is of copper wire, to avoid heating by the current, and adjustable below, as in Fig. 2.
VOL XXXVTT.-18R8.

0
112 DISCUSSION ON AN IMPROVED FORM OF 8BISMOSOOPE.
Mr. Walton Brown said he had not carefully considered the details of the seismoscope

devised by Professor Herschel, and he was not competent to give an opinion upon the

theoretical propositions adopted in its construction. Professor Herschel's seismoscope

appears to be in form similar to the parallel motion devised by Watt, in which the weight

is only able to move in an almost horizontal plane. It is possible that the numerous joints

would give rise to considerable frictional resistance, which may consitute a serious form

of defect in the practical working of the instrument. Any degree of stability can be given

to the instrument by placing the centre of gravity of the weight or ring NOPQ more or less

below the point of suspension M (Plate XXI.) The rotation of the weight round a vertical

axis is prevented by the pairing of the links into V form, as shown in Fig. 4. The index

seemed to be somewhat complex, and might prevent the use of the instrument by unskilled

persons.
The Chairman—Bo you know if Prof. Herschel has made an instrument of the kind described ?
Mr. Walton Brown—No, he has not made one.
Mr. W. H. Wood—Will the seismoscope not be subject to be acted on by movements in the

building in which it is placed ?
Mr. Walton Brown—It is fixed to the top of a post placed in the ground, and independent of

any building.
Professor Lebour asked Professor Stroud whether this instrument was simple enough to be

used by ordinary observers, who were not specially skilled ?
Professor Stroud said the instrument was simple enough. Professor Herschel had introduced a

number of springs, but they were really not essential to the main portion of the

instrument. It was rather difficult, reading this paper, to be able to distinguish exactly

what were the novelties which Professor Herschel had introduced. The chief complications

were in connection with the indicator, and particular attention had been paid to keep the

end of the indicator always pointed to a fixed point. The hair spring beneath, and the

spring above, were with a view to keeping the end of the indicator very exactly in the

centre of the little dimple of mercury, so that in any heeling of the whole instrument the

indicator should not get out of gear. In fact, Professor Herschel tried by this arrangement

to keep the end of the indicator always pointing to a certain definite position by means of

the hair springs. He (Professor Stroud) did not think anyone looking at the diagrams would

think the instrument very complicated ; but as there were many alternative plans
discussion on the miner's sun light electric lamp. 118
mentioned in the paper, they might fancy that the instrument was more complicated than it

really was.
The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to Professor Herschel for his paper, which was

agreed to.
The Secretary said, Mr. Urquhart had brought a new electric miner's lamp for the inspection

of members, which had not been put in the list of papers for this meeting ; but knowing

that gentlemen engaged in mining were always very anxious to see improvements in lamps, he

had invited that gentleman to be present. The lamp was the new " Sun Light," which had been

before the Royal Society in London, and was very much extolled there.
Mr. Urquhart exhibited the lamp, and said, the lamp had been brought out by a small

syndicate of scientific gentlemen in London, amongst whom was Mr. Maskelyne, the well-known

chemist. The lamp was a new form of secondary battery. It was new in so far as the plates

which produced the current consisted entirely of the material which was required for it,

and were not burdened and weighted, as in other secondary batteries, with a large amount of

lead, which made the batteries very heavy, and was such a waste of material as to bring

about fifty hours' light down to about five in an ordinary secondary battery; all the rest

was simply waste material. In this lamp, by a new process, all the extra labour was done

away with, and that was the reason why it was so much lighter. There was no lamp before

them able to approach this one yet in lightness. Of course the lamp had to be made as

strong as possible, and some had to have a heavy ring; but the battery itself was

remarkably light. The lamp weighed 4 lbs.; sometimes a little over and sometimes a little

less, according to the material used for the metal work. The lamp (exhibited) had a

reflector on the top; but there was a lamp which had no reflector—with the glass placed on

the top so as to give a general all-round light, which was not so powerful in one

direction, but which, for some purposes in a colliery, might be found more useful than a

lamp with a reflector. Another point which the designers of this lamp had attempted to meet

was the risk which electric lamps ran of causing an explosion. This risk was very slight,

because the glass secured the filament in such a way as not to break the filament itself.

If it happened that the carbon was broken, at the moment it broke a small arc would be

produced between the two ends, and a very high
114: DISCUSSION ON THE MINER'S SUN LIGHT ELECTRIC LAMP.
temperature would be produced; and under these circumstances it was just barely possible to

ignite an explosive atmosphere. This lamp had a particular arrangement to protect it

against this danger. The outside cover of the light was made of toughened glass, so that if

this outside glass was cracked it would break; and the instant the glass was removed there

was an inside spring released which put the light out immediately. It was quite impossible

to break the outside glass and the inside glass without the filament going out before the

air reached the filament. This was tested by Mr. Rhodes with explosive mixtures, and was

always found to answer, so that he expressed himself satisfied with it. A very important

question with reference to anything new in the way of a lamp was what would be the cost. An

electric light lamp, giving so much more light than any existing kind of oil lamp, and at

the same time giving certainly greater safety, could not be supplied at present at anything

like the price of an ordinary safety-lamp even of the better class. Still it was thought

that at the price of one guinea this lamp would be found to be a cheap instrument—as saving

in time, in working, and facilitating work generally. He thought that such an instrument

would in the end pay. The cost of maintenance was remarkably low. The horse-power required

to charge one of these lamps was very small indeed, and it took only 3£ to 4 hours to

charge the lamp; other secondary lamps took 8 to 12 and even 14 hours to charge. That was a

good point in favour of this lamp. They had reckoned up carefully that, including the

expenditure and power, and attendance for a fair average number of lights, 3d. per week

should keep each lamp going. As to the question of the special shape of the lamp, they

would understand that this was really a detail. Different shapes might be preferred at

different collieries, and probably some collieries would have various shapes, according to

the class of workmen in whose hands the lamps would be placed. A putter or a trimmer would

probably prefer a lamp to hook on to tubs, whereas a man working in the face would prefer a

lamp showing a good light on the exact spot where he was working. The lamp with a reflector

(such as he exhibited) gave a very good light, and could be turned on to any particular

point.
The Chairman—What is the illuminating power of this light ?
Mr. Urquhart—The light itself, without any artificial reflector, is 1^ to 1| candles. Lamps

vary a little ; it is difficult to get in a small lamp exactly the same amount of

illuminating power. With a reflector, taking a general measure of the light all-round, the

illuminating power is 2£ candles.
discussion on the miner's sun light electric lamp. 115
Mr. J. B. Atkinson—How long will this light burn ?
Mr. Urquhart—Nominally for 10 hours, but really 12 hours. For 10 hours it gives the light

of one candle; and then it gradually dies away.
Mr. Blackett—Where a large number of lamps are used, say 100 or 200, a long time would be

required to charge the lamps, alone, unless a dynamo of a very large power was employed.
Mr. Urquhart—A dynamo of, say, 100 volts might be used, with a large number of strings,

each with 12 to 20 lights across it. Each string of lights would occupy the same position

on the wires that one small lamp does in ordinary electric lighting.
Mr. J. B. Atkinson—Has any comparison been made between the cost of maintaining this lamp

and the ordinary miner's lamp ?
Mr. Urquhart—The amount of labour with this electric lamp is less. In reply to the question

as to the number of horse-power 100 lamps would require in charging—1\ to 1^ horse-power

would be sufficient. Theoretically it should take one, but allowing for the waste he would

say 14; for 4 hours.
Mr. W. H. Wool—Would a stone falling upon the lamp break the glass ?
Mr. Urquhart—If a stone broke the glass it would put the light out.
Mr. Wood—If a stone hit the spring it would put the light out.
Mr. Urquhart—It is not the blow that does it. There is a spring kept in by the glass. The

instant the glass is broken the spring comes out, and puts out the light.
A Member—What would be the result if the lamp was knocked over when it was lighted ?
Mr. Urquhart—A lamp could not be expected to stand upside down for 12 hours and be all

right. The lamp is not fragile; it will bear knocking about; but it could not be expected

to burn properly upside down. An ordinary safety-lamp goes out if it is jerked; but a jerk

does not send the light in this lamp out.
Mr. J. B. Atkinson—Is there any liquid in this lamp ?
Mr. Urquhart—Yes, dilute sulphuric acid.
A Member—Does the 3d. per week include the cost of keeping up the lamp ?
Mr. Urquhart—Yes, it includes the renewal of the filament lamp, the acid and the

plates—which last 6 months—the dynamo expenses, and wages of the attendant. There is

nothing reckoned in this for interest on capital. The real novelty is in the material of

which the accumulator is made.
116 DISCUSSION ON THE MINER'S SUN LIGHT ELECTEIC LAMP.
Mr. W. Cochrane proposed a vote of thanks to the gentleman for exhibiting the lamp, which,

he said, seemed to be very effective. Whether its duration would be equal to what had been

stated had yet to be proved. In regard to portability the lamp seemed to be very

satisfactory.
The vote of thanks was agreed to.
The following papers were taken as read, the writers being absent:— " Bornet's Hand-Boring

Machine," by E. L. Dumas; " Ackroyd's and Best's Miner's Safety-Lamp Cleaning Machine," by

William Ackroyd.
BORNET'S HAND-BORING MACHINE. 117
BORNET'S HAND-BOEING MACHINE.
By B. L. DUMAS.
The object of the writer has been to obtain a simple, strong, and. cheap drill which can

also be used as a substitute for the pick, or for percussive machines in mining operations.
In the greater number of cases, machines of this description, worked by hand, have been

made with a view to reduce the work of drilling to a minimum, and to augment the useful

effect of hand labour even when drilling hard rock.
They have been constructed of various dimensions and types according to the nature of the

rocks to be drilled, but they all partake of the same common principle which characterises

the system.
The following is a description of a very complete machine which, by the great power it

exerts, can be employed in drilling very hard rocks, and will compete successfully with

percussive drills ; each portion of the drill, with the particular object of the same, is

here described :—
The machine is represented in Fig. 1, Plate XXVIII. It is composed of a cast-iron tube a,

which is fixed to a supporting frame by means of the trunion b, situated somewhere about

the centre of gravity of the machine, and which permits it easily to follow any deviation

from the straight line the drill may make during its work.
This arrangement prevents the tool from fixing and breaking when it is penetrating

substances of unequal hardness, and at the same time materially reduces the power necessary

for working the machine.
Inside the cast iron tube a is placed another hollow tube c, carrying the drill, which is

made to turn by means of the bevelled wheels d and the handle e. The driving motion is

carried by an arm/attached to a collar which can turn freely round the tube a and which can

be fixed by means of a set screw g. This method of attaching the motive power enables it to

be shifted to any position which will best suit the conditions of the place in which it has

to work.
118 bornet's hand-boring machine.
The feed motion is communicated to the drill-carrier c by means of the nut Ti adapted to a

central screw i which is relatively fixed. The collar/ presses against a number of springs

placed in pairs It to give a certain elasticity to the pressure of the drill upon the rock.

This interposition of springs is very important, and has the result not only of preserving

the drill but also of rendering its pressure proportionate to the variable hardness of the

different kinds of rock which it has to pierce.
The hinder part of the screw i, which traverses the end of the apparatus, receives the

lever I by the aid of which the workman can turn it either way according as he wishes to

accelerate or diminish the progress of the drill. The friction of the drill against the end

of the tube a is relieved by means of a number of small steel balls m, and a bolt n keeps

the lever I stationary whilst the machine is in its normal condition of work.
This system, therefore, permits the workman to regulate at will, by the lever I, either

continuously or from time to time, the advancement of the tool according to the hardness of

the rocks which he encounters. The action of the springs k also permits the screw i to

spring back slightly in hard strata, so that the lever I when it springs back escapes

automatically from the restraint of the bolt n. As soon as the pressure upon the drill

becomes too great, it can be easily understood that the instant the screw i ceases to be

kept in its place, it is turned round by the friction exercised on the nut h of the

tool-carrier, and turns with this latter without making the drill advance until the

elasticity of the springs h have caused the drill to penetrate the rock sufficiently to

allow of the progressive movement being continued without inconvenience. The drill, Fig. 3,

which is fitted to the extremity of the carrier c, has a characteristic form which is of

great importance. It will be seen by the drawing that it is formed of a blade of steel o,

bent in the form of a screw, the section of which isin the form of a lozenge, the cutting

head jy is of a diameter slightly in excess of the body of the drill. This special

disposition of the drill has the following advantages:—
1.—The swelled portion of the blade o in the middle imparts great
strength to the tool. 2.—Its cutting edges prevent the small fragments cut from the rock
from jamming the tool. 8.—The increased size of the head of the drill permits it to turn

with
greater liberty during the whole of its course. These three conditions together have

reduced to a minimum the power necessary to work the machine.
BORN NT'S HAND-BORING MACHINE. 119
Fig. 2 represents a very simple form of machine, the dimensions of which are specially

reduced so as to make them applicable for working in tender strata, such as coal. In this

type of machine the drill is applied direct to the central screw r, which carries a

longitudinal groove in which slides a driving key, and the nut s, which determines the rate

of feed, is relatively fixed to the inside of the body t of the apparatus, while u u are

collars and slut balls answering the same purpose as those shown in Fig. 1, only in

duplicate to take the pressure each way. This type of machine has, like the preceding one—
1.—The employment of springs u to give an elasticity to the pressure
of the drill. 2.—The employment of a screw lever v, and the rotating motion of
the drill is carried by means of small steel balls in the same
manner as the one just described. 3.—The machine can turn round in any direction by means

of a
suspending collar, so that it can be placed at will in the most
favourable position for work. 4.—The mode of suspension, by means of the universal joint

«/,
permits the machine to follow any deviation the drill may
make during its working.
This arrangement of the machine also allows it to be turned round to work in either

direction, which does away with the necessity of bringing back the feed screw after each

operation. To do this, it has been necessary to arrange the nut so that it can be acted

upon by a double set of springs and friction balls and to make both ends of the feed screw

square, so as to carry the socket z at each end to receive the drill.
The drill and the coal-getter are constantly used in a large number of collieries and

quarries. The drill is employed for cross-cuts and exploring galleries driven in such rocks

or shale and Carboniferous sandstone. Its economy may be stated as from 20 to 30 per cent,

less than hand-drilling, and it is important to remark that the workmen themselves are

anxious to use the apparatus, even at a reduction in hewing price. This proves its economy

and the small amount of work it requires. The coal-worker is arranged especially for

working in coal and shale of average hardness. It may be specially called the miner's tool,

on account of its lightness, its power, and the facility with which it can be worked. It

makes perfectly cylindrical holes, which enables coal to be easily acted on, either by

gunpowder or by the employment of mechanical wedges, where it is necessary to avoid danger

from explosion.
VOL. XXXVir.—3888.

V
120 bobnet's hand-boring machine.
notes as to the working op these machines.
DniLjj No. 1.
Weight of machine ... ... ... ... ... ... 101*2

lbs.
Weight of a support suitable to seams of 63 feet ... ... 1056 „
Greatest pressure exerted by the tool ... ... ... 2,200 ,,
Average speed of drill per minute ... ... ... ... 2 inches.
Force necessary to work it ... ... ... ... ... TT5

horse-power.
Price of the machine with its support and all accessories ... £22. Price of the steel

blade section, as before described, cutting boring surface, in the form of a heart, from 1

to 2§
inches in diameter ... ... ... ... ... ... Is. 2d.

per lb.
Coal-Gettee No. 2.
Weight of machine ... ... ... ... ... ... 35'2

lbs.
„ „ support ... ... ... ... ... ... 48-4

,,
Greatest pressure exerted by the drill ... ... ... 1,650,,
Average speed of drill while being driven by the screw
direct ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7

to 8i inches per minute.
Average speed of drill when driven by means of gear ... 3^to4£ „ „
Power necessary to work it ... ... ... ... ... -fa

horse-power.
Price of the machine with its support ... ...... £8 10s.
miner's safety-lamp cleaning machine. 121
ACKROYD'S AND BEST'S MINER'S SAFETY-LAMP CLEANING MACHINE.
Patent 3089—1879.
By WILLIAM ACKROYD.
This machine has been invented for the purpose of cleaning safety-lamps and their gauzes by

machinery, and superseding the usually tedious process of cleaning them by hand.
Plate XXIX., Pigs. 1 to 5, shows the arrangement of the machine.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 8, a cross section through A,

B, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a plan looking at the top; Fig. 5, a modification in the construction of

the machine.
a is the framework, by preference of metal, fixed on suitable bed or table b-, on this

framework a is mounted in a suitable adjustable bearing c a shaft d, carrying on it a large

circular brush e and smaller circular brush/, the larger one e being for the purpose of

cleaning the exterior of lamp gauzes, and the smaller one / for removing foreign matter

from the interior thereof. For the purpose of cleaning the exterior any required number of

spindles g are provided round the brush e; on these the gauzes are placed and retained in

contact with the brush e. A rotary motion is imparted to the larger brush e, and

simultaneously to the spindles //, in order to bring the whole external surface of the

gauze in contact with the brush e. In order to cleanse the interior of the gauze the

smaller brush / is introduced into the interior, the gauze being held in the hand of the

attendant whilst the small brush / is rotating in the interior. In order to assist in

cleansing, a horizontal reciprocating motion is imparted to the spindle d, producing

thereby two motions of the brushes e and/in different directions simultaneously. The

reciprocating motion is obtained in one direction by the rotary cam h, which is secured to

the spindle d, being brought in contact with the fixed cam i on the framework a during its

rotary motion, and in the other direction by the spring k; or the arrangement shown at
122 miner's safety-lamp cleaning machine.
Fig. 5 or its equivalent may be employed, in which 1 is the spindle, 2 the crank or

eccentric, from which motion is transmitted thereto through connecting rod 3 and projecting

collar 4. The required rotary motion is given to the crank or eccentric 2 through cone

pulley 5, bevel gearing 6, and shafts 7 and 8.
On the framework a are other spindles I and m, by preference in adjustable bearings, on

which are fixed discs n, having on their faces brushes o of suitable form; these are caused

to revolve at any convenient speed, and arc used to clean and polish the body and other

parts of the lamp; these brushes o may be used either wet or dry, in the former state for

cleaning the dirt off and in the latter for polishing.
On the ends of the spindles I and m conical forms p are provided for screwing on and off

the metal ring known as the " glass ring."
In combination with this machine stationary projecting pieces q are employed, whereby the

attendant is enabled to slacken the metal ring known as the " glass ring " or tighten it in

its position.
Motion is transmitted to the various spindles and brushes through pulleys r from any

suitable or convenient motive power.
Every mining engineer knows how destructive to the gauzes the present mode of lamp cleaning

is; of course when the miners take them home to clean this destruction is intensified, but

even when done in the best regulated lamp cabin it is very great. There is no doubt also

that by keeping the brass work clean and bright more light from each description of lamp is

obtained. It is claimed that by the use of this machine not only can the lamps be more

rapidly taken to pieces and put together, but that the gauzes can be better and more

carefully cleaned while the brass work is being polished, and the whole process of

cleansing and preparing the lamps for a large colliery be carried out by much fewer hands.
The discussion on Mr. M. Walton Brown's paper on "A further attempt for the Correlation of

the Coal-Seams of the Carboniferous Formation of the North of England; with some Notes on

the probable duration of the Coal-Field/' was taken :—
DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 123
DISCUSSION ON MR. WALTON BROWN'S PAPER ON A FURTHER ATTEMPT FOR THE CORRELATION OF THE

COAL-SEAMS OF THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND; WITH SOME NOTES ON THE

PROBABLE DURATION OF THE COAL-FIELD.
The Secretary read the following letter from Mr. Gresley:—
OVERSEAL, ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOIJCH,
1st February, 1888. Theo. W. Bunning, Esq., Secretary.
Dear Sir,—With reference to Mr. M. Walton Brown's paper on coal-seams, I should like to

contribute a few words in the discussion when it comes on; and as I cannot get to the

meeting perhaps you would have the kindness to read my remarks which I make as follows :—
When trying to puzzle out some problems concerning the probable mode of formation of

coal-seams a few years ago, it struck me that if a growth in situ theory be accepted

(though I myself am no upholder of the idea that coal-beds are the remains of forests of

trees which grew on the spot) at no time during the continuance of the deposition of the

Coal-Measures was the living vegetation of which coal is composed wholly placed under

water, or otherwise killed off from every part of the earth's surface undergoing the

accumulation of such deposits, because such a destruction of plant-life would I imagine

have necessitated the creation of a new set of plants for each seam of coal, which seems

altogether irrational to suppose for a moment. And it therefore seems to me to follow that

each bed of coal, be it thick or thin, wThere sunk or passed through at any particular

point represents only an offshoot, so to speak, or one particular period of time (a pause

in the deposition of sediment over that area) out of the vast ages during which I conceive

the coal-plants had a continuous existence either over one area or another. Now, Mr.

Brown's theory for coal-seams would seem to imply what I have just said, and I am pleased

that he has brought out the idea before this Institution. In
124 DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
attempting correlations of coal-seams we must, of course, keep in view the idea that there

can be very little doubt (if any at all) that our various coal-fields are nothing but the

remnants, so to say, of the original enormous coal-field which probably not only overspread

by far the greater part of the area now occupied by the British Isles, but also large areas

of the Continent (Germany. Belgium, France, etc.) and portions of what are now seas and

oceans ; so that we shall never really be able to set this interesting question at rest by

proof. The most remarkable instance I know of of the splitting-up of a coal-seam into

numerous smaller ones, is in the South Staffordshire district where the " ten yard " or

"thick " coal near Dudley when followed in a northerly direction becomes divided up into

about a dozen distinct beds interstratified with some 400 feet of shales, etc. A somewhat

similar splitting-up of this " thick " coal to the south, west, and east of Dudley occurs.

Also in the Warwickshire coalfield we find the coal-seams all close together in the south

near Coventry, but widely separated as followed towards the northern end of the district.

Can Mr. Brown inform us whether any attempt at a correlation of the coal-seams of county

Durham with those of Yorkshire has yet been made, or of those of the Cumberland with the

North of England ? It would be also interesting to outsiders like myself to learn from Mr.

Brown where and in which coals the anthracite occurs, or has been met with, in the northern

coal-field. Does it occur in lenticular patches, i.e., over very limited areas in

particular bands of particular seams, or is the full thickness of the coal converted into

anthracite ? Does it seem to occur only near to faults or to whin dykes ? Is cone-in-cone

coal (crystallised coal, as it is sometimes termed in South Wales) met with in the

neighbourhood of Newcastle or in county Durham and associated with the anthracite ?
I am, Sir,
Faithfully yours,
W. S. Greslev, F.G.S.
Mr. M. Walton Brown—There would be great difficulty in carrying out Mr. Gresley's

suggestion regarding the correlation of the seams within this district with those in

Yorkshire and Cumberland.
The Chairman—There is no seam of anthracite in this district.
Mr. J. B. Atkinson—There is a little seam of coal worked in the neighbourhood of Alston of

anthracitic nature.
Mr. Marley said, he was sorry he was not present at the meeting when Mr. Brown read his

paper, and he would take this, the first oppor-
DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 125
tunity, of calling attention to what he thought was an unfortunate omission in connection

with the correlation of these coal-seams, and that was the omission of all reference to the

work of their ex-President, Mr. G. C. Green-well. Mr. Greenwell followed Mr. Buddie with a

synopsis in 1855. Mr. Brown has only referred to Mr. Buddie's synopsis of 1830 in the

Transactions of the Institute, and which he revised for the " Wise Week " in Newcastle in

1838. But afterwards Mr. Greenwell prepared a synopsis, and he (Mr. Marley) called

attention to it now, as it was their duty to put this on record as well; and then the work

of the late Mr. N. Wood, the late Mr. J. Taylor, with himself (Mr. Marley) came third. In

connection with a geological division which Mr. Brown had made, he joined issue seriously

with Mr. Brown in introducing the names of the Gannister beds and Millstone Grit series. In

his paper, Mr. Brown considered or took the Brockwell coal-seam as the line of demarcation,

and as the bottom of the whole of our coal formation proper. He did not know where Mr.

Brown had got his reason for making such an assertion, because, close to the Gannister

beds, the sandstones and other strata were entirely in harmony with the rest of the coal

formation; and he differed from Mr. Brown very materially on the point. He hoped, before

the paper was printed and published, that Mr. Brown would add some addenda, because the

Victoria and the Marshall Green, in the Auckland West district, lie far above the Millstone

Grit strata. He (Mr. Marley) considered these seams, and a third lower seam, should be

coupled in and form part of the coal formation proper. The synopsis publication of the

Chairman was referred to by Mr. Brown, and he (Mr. Marley) was glad that the Chairman

followed the original line, and carried the coal formation proper down to the Millstone

Grit. This was an important question, and should be put right. If Mr. Brown would refer to

the 133rd sheet of the Geological Map, he would find that it supported him (Mr. Marley) in

these views.
Mr. W. H. Hedley said, on looking over Mr. Brown's synopsis of the coal-seams yesterday

evening, he found that he could not altogether agree with some portions. With regard to the

synopsis of the coal-seams in Table I., that, as to the county of Durham, appeared to him

to be in the main correct, so far as the correlation of the seams, apart from their

nomenclature, was concerned. But for the names of some of the seams, those in the Consett

district in particular, Mr. Brown had apparently gone back to ancient history; and, it

struck him that in a new synopsis, which might be regarded as in a measure corrective of

those that had gone before, it might have been better to abandon the older names in favour
126 DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OP THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
of those now generally recognised. Thus, in the Consett district, the seam termed the

Pasture Drift, had been worked and known for the past twenty years as the Three-Quarter

Seam ,• that termed the No. 1 had been known for an equally long time as the Townley; the

Stone Coal as the Tilley; the Busty Bank as the Busty; the Five-Quarter or Splint Coal as

the Five-Quarter. All these more modern names, as he might term them, were used in the

table prepared for the Royal Commission on Coal eighteen years ago. Again, at Garesfield

and Prudhoe, the seam termed the Barlow Fell had been for long known and spoken of only as

the Townley; whilst, although at Prudhoe the names Five-Quarter, Six-Quarter, and Yard were

those recognised as applying to the seams as placed in the table, the same seams at

Garesfield werenowrespectivelyknownonlyas the Stone Coal, Five-Quarter, and Three-Quarter.

In the Cockfield district also, nobody for the last thirty years had, he should imagine,

thought of speaking of the Five-Quarter Seam there as the Crow Coal,- and it was news to

him that the thin coal, occurring between the Five-Quarter and Main Coal Seams, had

anywhere in that neighbourhood been deemed of sufficient importance to be called by a

special name, although it would, of course, occupy a corresponding position with the

Three-Quarter Seam of Consett, Garesfield and Eyton.
Mr. T. E. Forster asked Mr. Brown where he got the name "Glebe" in the Blyth district ?

It was always known as the High Main Seam.
The Chairman—Is there not a seam there called the Moorland Seam ?
Mr. T. E. Forster—That is another seam.
The Chairman—Is it not the High Main Seam?
Mr. T. E. Forster thought not.
The Chairman—The Glebe and the Moorland are the High Main.
Mr. Walton Brown—They are two seams, the Black Close or Moorland, corresponding to the

Three-Quarter Seam; and the Glebe, to the High Main Seam.
Mr. T. E. Forster—The High Main is the Glebe in the neighbourhood of Bedlington.
Mr. Simpson, jun., said that in the small section which Mr. Brown gave from Murton to

Pontop he showed the Low Main and the Maudlin, at Byhope, to be separate. This was exactly

opposite to the recognised position. The Low Main Seam at Murton was some ten fathoms below

the Maudlin, it rose to the level of the Maudlin Seam north of Seaham shaft, and continued

close on the Maudlin over the Eyhope district.
Mr. White—At Murton Colliery the Low Main Seam is within a fathom of the Bensham, about

half a mile from the shaft, and they have
DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC. 127
been known to have almost come together, although at the shaft they are about 15 fathoms

apart.
Mr. Marley said the remarks just made reminded him that there was a great desideratum in

connection with Mr. Brown's paper. Mr. Brown had not attempted to give the thickness of

each seam, or the distance between each seam, and therefore it was difficult to compare

correctly and trace how far each correlation was correct. For instance, Mr. Brown spoke

rather indefinitely as to the seam of coal found 12 fathoms below the Brockwell Seam, and

of a second seam 15 fathoms further down, making 27 fathoms. This was the only instance

he gave of the depth or thickness. But actually at Marshall Green, the first seam, the

Hargill Hill, or what was called the Victoria Seam, was found at 10f fathoms ; the next

seam below was about 8|, and the next seam worked again below that at Marshall Green, was

about 8| fathoms, making 27| fathoms. There were three seams there whioh had been

worked and coal band 8 fathoms lower, making 35£ fathoms of Coal-Measures below the

Brockwell Seam. But without the depth being given it was difficult to make any comparison

and trace them. Perhaps it was now too late to do it; but it would be of great

additional value to the synopsis if Mr. Brown could give such information. He was

perfectly well aware that what he asked for involved a great deal of labour and trouble

being spent.
Professor Lebour said he would like to say one or two words as to what Mr. Marley had said

respecting the Gannister beds. He agreed with Mr. Marley that below the Gannisters were

measures just like the Coal-Measures above the Brockwell.
Mr. Marley—The Gannister beds are much below coal beds at Marshall Green.
Professor Lebour—Yes; they occupied a position between the Millstone Grit, and that part of

the Upper Carboniferous series where the good, thick, workable seams were found. In this

district it had been usual to use the Brockwell Seam as the lowest of the so-called middle

Coal-Measures. He did not attach importance to this. It was all Coal-Measures from the

highest seam known to the top of the Millstone Grit. The name Gannister was not a very good

one; because there were not only Gannister beds there, but also in other parts of the

Carboniferous series. He had used " Gannister beds " himself, for this reason, that he

thought the alternative name, " Lower Coal-Measures," was an exceedingly deceptive one. In

Scotland they had the habit of giving the name "Lower Coal-Measures" altogether to the

limestone coal series
VOL. XXXVII.—1888.

Q
128 DISCUSSION—COAL-SEAMS OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND, ETC.
there. When a Scotchman referred to the "Lower Measures," he meant beds different from

those which Englishmen called "Lower Coal-Measures." This was one reason why, in this

district, we did not like to use the term "Lower Coal-Measures," because, being so near to

Scotland, we were sure to confuse ourselves when dealing with the Scotch sub-divisions. He

agreed with Mr. Marley as to the position of the Gannister beds, and, in fact, that the

Brockwell Seam was a mere arbitrary line of division, of no value at all except for

convenience. As a matter of convenience it was a good one, for it was advisable to have a

distinct datum to start from.
Mr. Marley said, that in the geological maps they called the seams below the Brockwell Seam

the " Lower Coal-Measures," and then began with the Millstone Grit. In this district his

friend (Mr. Brown) said it was preferable to call all coals above the Brockwell the " true

Coal-Measures ;" whereas he (Mr. Marley) contended that the Marshall Green and Victoria

seams belonged to the " true Coal-Measures," and that it was unfortunate to introduce the

word " Gannister."
Professor Lebour said, there was no doubt Mr. Marley was right. This was the first time he

had seen the word " Gannister beds " on the geological maps as in the " Lower

Coal-Measures," instead of synonymous with them.
The Chairman—There was a deep boring put down at Witton, and they reached the Millstone

Grit at a considerable depth.
Mr. Marley—At a depth of about 80 fathoms below the Brockwell Seam.
The Chairman—In this neighbourhood there is a deep boring below the Brockwell Seam of 50

fathoms, and the Millstone Grit was not reached at that depth.
Mr. Marley moved that the discussion should be adjourned.
The Chairman said, that at the last meeting he stated that he would offer some remarks upon

Mr. Brown's paper when it came up for discussion ; but, unfortunately, he had not noticed

that the paper was to be brought up for discussion to-day, and, therefore, he had not come

prepared to give his remarks. He would like the discussion to be adjourned, and so give

other members an opportunity of coming forward with other facts respecting this extremely

interesting matter. He seconded Mr. Marley's motion for adjournment.
The motion for adjournment of the debate was agreed to.
The meeting concluded.
PROCEEDINGS. 129
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, APRIL 14th, 1888, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL. NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
Sir LOWTHLAN BELL, President, in the Chair.
The Secretary (Mr. Lebour) read the minutes of the previous General Meeting, and they were

confirmed.
The Secretary reported the proceedings of the Council.
The following gentleman was elected, having been previously nominated:—
Associate Member— Mr. Lancelot Fletcher, Marsden Colliery, South Shields.
The following gentlemen were nominated for election :—
Associate Members—
Mr. William G. Wears, 28 and 29, St. Swithin's Lane, London, E.C. Mr. William Rich, Minas

de Rio Tinto, Provincia de Hnelva, Spain.
PEESENTATION TO ME. T. W. BUNDING.
The President—Gentlemen, before we commence the usual business of the meeting, there is a

duty which I have undertaken, and which I will endeavour to perform to the best of my

ability. I am afraid the manner in which this duty will be discharged will not be equal to

the occasion, because, as you will hear, I am suffering from a very bad cold, and not only

is my voice weak, but I can only speak with considerable difficulty, and with some pain to

myself. The duty to which I refer is that of assuring our friend, Mr. Bunning, of the

entire satisfaction of the members with the way he has discharged his duties as Secretary

of this Institute for the last twenty-one years. You are aware that some time ago Mr.

Bunning, on account of his health, was obliged to tender his resignation. It is a matter of

regret to us that Mr. Bunning has been compelled to resign his appointment,
VOL. XXXVII.—1988.

R
180 PROCEEDINGS.
and we still more regret the cause; and I hope and trust—and you will all join with me in

the hope—that with his retirement from active life he may find his health sufficiently

restored to enable him to have many years to pass with advantage to his family, and to

those who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. With respect to the manner in which Mr.

Bunning has performed his duties, I would refer the members to the records of the Institute

itself. As I have already stated, Mr. Bunning has been in our service for the last

one-and-twenty years. He succeeded a gentleman well known in the North of England,

namely, Mr. Doubled ay. Mr. Doubleday was a man of high literary power, and very great

reading; but, unfortunately, he had arrived at that condition which we shall all reach, I

suppose, if we live long enough, when his health unfitted him to meet the constant claims

upon his attention, and in consequence—I believe I am speaking what is strictly correct—the

fortunes of the Mining Institute somewhat languished under the later period of his

superintendence. Mr. Doubleday's resignation having been accepted by the Council of the

day, Mr. Bunning was appointed in his room ; and I believe any gentleman who will give

himself the trouble to ascertain the change which took place in the position of the Mining

Institute after Mr. Bunning assumed the direction of its fortunes, cannot fail to recognise

a very material and very important alteration in the prosperity and general usefulness of

the Institute itself. Under the circumstances I think the Council would have merited

your displeasure if they had allowed Mr. Bunning to sever his connection with the Institute

without giving him some formal assurance in recognition of the high appreciation in which

his services have been held. We thought we were justified in voting him 100 guineas, and

also in having prepared a memorial which Mr. Bunning can take away with him as a

reminiscence of the value in which his services have been regarded by the Council and the

members of the Institute generally. That we have acted rightly has, I believe, received

ample confirmation in the conduct of the other bodies which are in the habit of meeting in

this hall—I mean the different sections of the coal trade. Each of these bodies has, I

understand, voted even a larger sum than we have done; and, of course, it is very

gratifying to us that the example that we set to our more wealthy—I hope I may say more

wealthy—colleagues, who are in the habit of assembling here, has been followed, and that

the step we have taken has thus been confirmed. Perhaps, as I am addressing you on the

subject of the secretarial work, I may be allowed to intimate to you that Mr. Lebour has

been appointed Secretary in succession to Mr. Bunning. Mr. Lebour,
PROCEEDINGS. 181
as you all know, is a professor of a science closely allied to your own profession, namely,

that of geology. It would be idle for me, especially in his presence, to dwell at any great

length upon Mr. Lebour's merits. I believe I am speaking the strict truth when I say that

his merits as a scientific geologist extend far beyond the confines of the city where,

happily for the college, his fortunes are at present cast. Mr. Lebour will attend at the

office from 11*30 a.m. to 1 *30 p.m. regularly every day. You are aware that we consider

that the office of Secretary of our Institute does not require that constant attendance

which Mr. Bunning was in the habit of giving, owing to his having, as you all know, many

other duties to perform in this building, and which will not have to be discharged by Mr.

Lebour. Inasmuch, however, as members coming from the country might require to see the

Secretary, we have thought it desirable that there shall, at all events, be two stated

hours in which members can come here and count on finding Mr. Lebour. These hours have been

fixed for the present at 11*30 a.m. to 1*30 p.m., but when we have had some experience of

the system, it may be that it will be found necessary to have some modification introduced

for the convenience of Mr. Lebour, or for the convenience of the members, or of both.

Coming back to the more immediate business, I must say I cannot allow Mr. Bunning to retire

from our service without tendering to him my own personal thanks, as President for nearly

two years, for the unfailing assiduity and attention he has paid to my slightest wish in

connection with my official duties. No trouble appeared too great or too unimportant to

secure his attention; and I take this opportunity of tendering him my personal thanks for

the very efficient way he has carried out the various instructions I may, on your behalf,

have given him from time to time. I have much pleasure in placing in Mr. Bunning's hands

this cheque for 100 guineas, and I will ask the Secretary, as my voice is gradually growing

less audible, to read the memorial.
The Secretary (Mr. Lebour) read the following address, which is neatly engrossed, and

surrounded by an ornamental border:—
"At a meeting of the Council of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical

Engineers, held on the 31st March, 1888, it was unanimously resolved to express to

Theophilus Wood Bunning the deep regret of the members of the Institute that the state of

his health has compelled him to retire from the office of Secretary, which he has held to

their entire satisfaction for 21 years; and, as a mark of their respect, it was further

resolved to place at his disposal the sum of 100 guineas, accompanied by the sincere wish

that his health may be restored.—Lowthian Bell, President."
182 PROCEEDINGS.
Mr. T. W. Bunking—Gentlemen, I regret that my voice is much in the same state as that of

our distinguished President. I can with very great difficulty speak, am almost totally

deaf, and afraid that many of the very kind remarks, which no doubt have been made, have

escaped my hearing. I think the President did say something about my having paid some

attention to your wants and wishes; but how could I have done otherwise, seeing how kind

you all have been to me ? I am sure that at all times it has been a pleasure to me to work

with you, and I only wish that my health would have spared me to work longer; but really,

with the infirmities that now cling to me, I find it utterly impossible for me to go on

satisfactorily performing those services which I know ought to be carried out by persons in

the position in which you were kind enough to place me. I can only say that I thank you

sincerely for your kindness, and assure you that I will ever have a pleasant recollection

of the time spent in your service. I also thank you, Sir Lowthian, very much for your great

personal kindness to me at all times.
THE LATE ME. T. E. HARRISON.
The President—There is one more matter of a still more painful kind to which I must call

your attention—the death of a gentleman who for many years has been a member of this body.

I allude to my friend of fifty years and more standing—Mr. Thomas Harrison, engineer to the

North-Eastern Eailway Co. It is usual, I believe, in our Transactions to record the death

of any member of the Institute; and I think you will agree with me that in the death of Mr.

Harrison not only we, but engineering science generally, and society at large in the North

of England, as well as elsewhere, have suffered a very great loss in his death. I will not

trespass at any length upon your time in enumerating the great services which Mr. Harrison

rendered to railway engineering science during his long life; I say his long life, because

if he had lived until the 4th of this month he would have completed his 80th year. The last

time I saw him he told me he had summoned all his more immediate relatives to assemble at

his home in order to celebrate the completion of his 80th year. Unfortunately, as you all

know, the assembly of his friends took place under circumstances of a very different and of

a most melancholy character. Before the 4th of April arrived Mr. Harrison was laid in his

grave in the village where he had lived so many years of his
PROCEEDINGS. 138
life. What I invite you to do is to empower the Council to assure Mrs. Harrison, in a far

more perfect way than I am at present capable of doing, of our feelings of sincere and

profound regret at the death of one who was loved and respected not only by his neighbours

in the North of England, but wherever the science of railway engineering was known. If you

are good enough to confirm this appeal to you, the Council will take care that the

sentiments of our body generally will be forwarded to Mrs. Harrison and her family.
The proposal of the President was agreed to.
Mr. W. J. Bird read the following paper, by G-. Meyer and W. J. Bird, " On the use' of Iron

Supports in the Main Roads of Mines instead of Masonry or Timbering":—
THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC. 185
THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN THE MAIN ROADS OF MINES INSTEAD OF MASONRY OR TIMBERING.
Hy a. MEYER and W. J. BIRD.
The employment of iron supports in the main roads of coal and other mines has of late years

greatly increased on the Continent. The economical and efficient form in which it can now

be applied has induced the writers to give some illustrative particulars respecting the

cost of the various forms of iron supports at present in use in Continental mines.
Rails, either new or old, of wrought iron or steel, are bent or arched into the shapes

required by the dimensions of the roads for which they are intended. These rails are often

bought as scrap iron from the railways, and when used new are of the I, T, and U sections,

besides the flat-bottomed rail.
At Creuzot, in France.—Plain horizontal bars are here used, supported by wooden props.

Sometimes the bars are supported on two side walls of masonry. In the latter case, when the

superincumbent pressure is great, the bar is arched into a shape such as that shown in Fig.

1, Plate XXX. No space must be left between the ends of the bars and the side walls, so

that yielding in that direction is impossible. The lining above the rails or bars along the

roof is made with oak planking, put close together. The same style of support is often

utilised for stables, shaft bottoms, engine houses, etc., and then, instead of oak lining,

brickwork is built from bar to bar, the distance between which is from 3 feet to 3 feet 6

inches.
The greatest employment of iron supports is in gateways, main roads, engine planes, etc.

For this purpose the rails or bars are bent into arches, or parts of an arch connected by

fish-plates. Without attempting to enumerate the many different styles of arches employed,

some typical examples may be given.
130 THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC.
In the Prussian Government Lead Mines, in the Harts Mountains.— One of the writers (G-.

Meyer) has been occupied here with this kind of work. The rails used are flat-bottomed and

14^ lbs. per yard section. They are bent " at bank " (with the heads inwards) into a shape

such as that shown in Fig. 2, Plate XXX. The ends of the iron arch are lodged in holes

drilled in large stones set in the bottom and fastened by wooden plugs or cement. Between

these stones stone blocks are inserted to keep them apart and thus ensure the stability of

the whole. These side stones or blocks also serve instead of sleepers for the tramway line,

the bolts being driven into oak pings wedged into holes drilled 3 inches deep. The lining

outside the arches is done with the same kind of rails, each 19 feet 8 inches long,

arranged longitudinally, and the flat bottoms being inside in contact with the base of the

arch rails. The space between these longitudinal rails is lined with flagstones obtained

from neighbouring quarries.
The following comparative estimates of cost of the different methods of support are

extracted from the Mines Inspector's Reports of the Hartz Mining district.
I.—Iron supports with flat-bottom rails (cost £7 per ton) in main roads. For length of

19 feet 8 inches :—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
6 arcli rails (14^ lbs. per yard) ... ... ... 1 14 3 5

2
21 longitudinal rails do. ... ... ... 6 6 0

19 3
Basement stones ... ... ... ... ... 34

6
Flagstones for lining ... ... ... ... 18 0

29
Transport of material ... ... ... ... 16

3
Rail-bending at bank ... ... ... ... 10

2
Labour (cost of)...............1 13 0 5 0
£10 17 1 £1 13 2 II.—Walling with quarry stones (masonry). For same length :—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
Quarry stones...............8 10 0 1 5 11
Mortar................. 14 6 2 2
Transport of material ... ... ... 14 8

23
Centres, laths, etc............. 12 0 110
Wages..................5 10 0 16 10
16 1 2 2 9 0
If temporary timbering is necessary and this
timber be lost, add cost of timber... ... 2 0 0 6 1
£18 12 £2 15 1
THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC. 187
III.—Cost of timbering (props and planks) same length :—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
Props and planks ............3 18 0 1110
Lining timber............... 12 0 1 10
Working holes for prop bottoms ... ... 15 0 23
Removing debris and transport of material... 15 0 2 3
Wages..................14 0 3 10
£7 4 0 £12 0
It will be seen that these estimates relate to first cost only.
Iron Supports in the Altmwald Coal Mine (near SaarbriickenJ.—In the gateway of a seam where

an underlying seam had been worked out, a good deal of settling and shifting was always

observed. To obviate this difficulty, it was determined to put in iron supports in the form

of elliptic arches, as shown in Fig. 3, Plate XXXI. To prevent the arches from longitudinal

shifting, horizontal props were inserted from arch to arch at the highest points. The

lining behind the arches is done with oak planking. This method of maintenance has proved

very satisfactory, the only repairs sometimes necessary being the renewal of the oak

planking, which is easily effected. It is important that the planks should not be placed

edge to edge, but slightly overlapping, as shown in Fig. 8, Plate XXXI. so as to allow some

play to the planking when under heavy pressures. Great importance is attached to the

perfect vertical position of the arches. The cost of this kind of support is as follows

:—
For length of 6 feet 10| inches—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d. 3 elliptic T rails, with fish-plates and bolts
(cost £10 per ton) ............2 17 0 14 9
Oak timber (cost 9d. per cubic foot)...... 110 9 2
Working out full space and putting in supports .................. 1 10 0

13 0
Preparing rails...............14 6 10 8
Preparing planks ............ 13 7
£6 13 9 £2 18 2
Cost of timbering for the same length—
£ l. d. Wages ..................... 122
Material ...... ............... 2 12 0
£3 14 2
Brickwork or stonework arching was not applicable in this road, owing to the continuous

settling of the floor.
\()|,. XXXVIF.—1888.

N
138 THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC.
lu a gateway where the lateral pressure was very heavy, so that it would have been

necessary to put the iron arches very close together, thus involving a considerable

increase in cost, a combined system of walling and iron supports was employed. This system

greatly resembles that applied at Creuzot, as shown in Fig. 1. The ends of the bars are

laid on sheet iron, thus distributing the pressure over a greater area of wall surface. A

complete arching of masonry would have involved a great deal of blasting to make the

necessary room; the dangerous loosening of the roof under such circumstances was thus

avoided by the adoption of this combined system.
A combination of walling and iron supports was also adopted to secure the engine plane,

near the shaft bottom, in the same mine. As the width of the plane was there 22 \ feet,

masonry arching would have required a great deal of extra blasting, and no doubt have

involved a considerable loss of timber, and the work would have occupied a considerable

time. The cost of this system, as compared with masonry arching, is shown as follows, for a

length of 82^ feet:— Combined system—
= per yard.
£ 3. a. £ b. d.
Making room ............ 54 12 0 5 17
Masons'wages ............ 12 12 0 13 5
Quarry stones, 211 cubic feet ...... 14 00 160
Mortar, 883 do. ...... 11 19 0 12 3
Sand, 1,059 do. ...... 4 12 6 8 7
Oak planking ............ 2 15 0 5 1
Wages—preparing planking ... ... 66 7
14 rails............... 34 17 8 4 11
28 pieces boiler plate put under ends of rails 10 0 1 10
Preparing rails ... ... ... ... 118

11
Preparing boiler plates ... ...... 1 12 2 3 0
Transport of material ......... 6 0 0 11 2
£144 18 6 £13 9 6 Masonry arching complete, same length—
= per yard.
£ a. d. £ s. d.
Making room ............42 0 0 3 18 1
Masons' wages ............ 37 16 0 3 10 4
Quarry stones, 6,282 cubic feet ...... 41 10 8 3 17 3
Mortar, 2,825 do. ...... 38 15 0 3 12 1
Sand, 3,178 do. ...... 13 10 0 15 1
Wood (lost timber) ......... 12 0 11
Do. centres ............ 2 2 0 8 11
Do. planks ............ 12 0 11
£176 17 8 £16 8 11
THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC. 139
In another gateway, the iron supports were made circular in shape, as shown in Fig. 4,

Plate XXXI. "Wrought iron plates (costing £5 per ton as scrap iron) were used for lining

instead of oak planking. The following account shows the cost of this method for each

length of G feet lOf inches:—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
Rails, fisli-plates, and bolts ... ... 260 100
Wrought iron lining plates (17 cwts. 0 qrs.
25 lbs.)............... 4 7 6 1 18 1
Preparing rails and fish-plates ... ... 9 0 3 11
Preparing lining plates ... ... ... 192 84
Making room and putting in supports ... 2 18 2 153
£10 19 10 £4 15 7
In a return air-way in the same mine, where the sides stand firm but a strong pressure from

the roof was observed, a system of iron supports was adopted, as shown in Fig. 5, Plate

XXXI. In this place the warm and damp return air was very destructive to timbering. The

cost of this method is shown as follows for each length of 6 feet 10§ inches:—
= per yard.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
Rails, fish-plates, bolts ......... 270 105
Wrought iron lining plates (14 cwts. lqr.21bs.) 3 12 6 1 11 6 Preparing

rails, fish-plates, etc. ... ... 80 36
Preparing lining plates, making room, and
putting in supports ... ...... 5 5 9 2 6 0
£11 13 3 £5 15
The cheapest method of iron supports adopted is shown in Fig. 6, Plate XXXII., the cost

being as follows per length of 6 feet lOf inches:—
= per yard.
£ s. d. s. d.
Rails, fish-plates, bolts ...... ... 210 17 10
Oak planking ... ... ... ... 168 73
Preparing rails, etc. ......... 12 0 5 3
Preparing planking ... ... ... 26 11
Making room and putting in supports ... 110 91
£4 13 2 £2 0 6
The average cost of labour for this kind of work was from 2s. to 2s. 4d., clear of

deductions. When the work previously described was done in the Altenwald mine, the whole

system of iron supports was in an elementary stage of development. No workmen skilled in

this special
140 THE USK OF IRON SUPPORTS IN MINES, ETC.
kind of work were available. Doubtless, in the future, when more experience has been

gained, the cost of the iron supports is likely to be considerably diminished.
Segen Gottes Pit, Austria,—In this mine the shape of iron support used is shown in Fig. 7,

a, Plate XXXII. A double roadway has here to be maintained. The lower ends of the arch

rails are connected by cross rails, to which the tramway rails are fastened. The timber

supports for the same roadway are shown in Fig. 7, b, Plate XXXII. The following figures

show the comparative costs of the two methods:—
First cost of ir?n S"pP°rtS = -^ = ^ thus iron supports cost timbering 1076

1
20*8 per cent, more than timbering.
. n . , j. iron supports 21'96 *915 tt„ „
After nine years use, cost of —-.—, T — = —r-r- = ——. Here J

timbering 24 1
iron supports cost 8£ per cent, less than timbering.
. , , , . , , iron supports 8625 *562
After eighteen years use, cost of - ,. , .----- = „. s. = —=—.
& J timbering 64-54 1
Here iron supports cost 43'8 per cent, less than timbering.
No account is taken in this comparison of the value of the old rails when taken out as

scrap iron. In the same pit, the iron supports are sometimes painted, the cost of which is

considered about equivalent to that of cleaning the fungus (Xylophagus) from the timber. A

gateway is mentioned where strong timber was crushed within three months by the heavy

pressure. Iron supports, of elliptic section, were put in, and lasted fully five years

without the slightest evidence of injury. At the end of that time, the district of this

gateway was worked out, and the iron supports were taken away and set up in another place.
The writers might have given a number of further cases from Continental mining practice,

but those cited above are sufficient to establish the efficiency and economy of the system

of iron supports in main roads. In the United Kingdom, as compared with the Continent, iron

is cheaper and timber dearer, which would show a still greater comparative advantage in

this country. The matter is well worth the consideration of mine managers. It may be

objected that several of the methods previously described involve the use of oak lining

planks at considerable cost. To meet this objection, a method of iron supports in

conjunction with corrugated iron lining (Meyer's patent) has been suggested, and is likely

to be experimentally introduced at an early date in some of the collieries in this country.
DISCUSSION—THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS, ETC. 141
The President suggested that the cost per ton should be given.
Mr. Bird said he would take an opportunity of adding that information.
Mr. Steavenson thought they had learned from this paper a process which was very useful in

mines in the circumstances under which the iron was applied, and they seemed to be all

exceptional circumstances. Iron was used at Altenwald " in the gateway of a seam where an

underlying seam had been worked out;" and they were told that "brick or stone-work arching

was not applicable in this road, owing to the continuous settling of the floor." Again,

they were told that, " in a return air-way, where the sides stand firm but a strong

pressure from the roof was observed, a system of iron supports was adopted. In this place

the warm and damp return air was very destructive to timbering." Further on in the paper it

was stated that " a gateway is mentioned where strong timber was crushed within three

months by the heavy pressure." These were all exceptional circumstances, and he had no

doubt, under such exceptional circumstances, the system described by Messrs. Meyer and Bird

was exceedingly useful; but, under general circumstances, in coal mines his own impression

was that there was hardly room for steel or iron, so far as he was able to judge. In 1885

Mr. Hugh Bell asked him to look into the question of using steel for the main gateways in

Cleveland, where they used heavy timber, and he did so, and exhibited a section of

rail-girder, which had been used for three years with great advantage, supplied by the

Darlington Steel and Iron Co. Before going far into the question he made experiments, and

he had accumulated a pile of documents which he would not deal with that day, but would

prepare in a form to be read at a future meeting. In making the experiments, he selected a

part of the mine where he should be disturbed as little as possible by the passing traffic,

and where he would disturb the passing traffic as little as possible. If they referred to

Barlow, " On the Strength of Materials," they would see he experimented on small

pieces—many pieces not larger than an ordinary desk ruler. He (Mr. Steavenson) doubted

whether it was fair to judge of the strength of a large balk of timber by testing only a

very small piece. [He illustrated on the blackboard how the tests were made.] He said that

one of the steel girders carried 13 tons, and then it simply bent down without the smallest

sign of fracture, and it could be straightened and used again. When he put in the timber,

the best balk came away with 4 tons, and, of course, was of no further use. He got channel

iron, of 2, 3, or 4 feet, and put it on the top of the girders, and it made an efficient

support for the roof. He
142 DISCUSSION—THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS, ETC.
used channel iron, and he did not know how far this was an infringement of Mr. Meyer's

patent, or whether Mr. Meyer's was an infringement of the Cleveland system. In the case of

timber, they were subject to damp roof, and some had been three times renewed in two years,

but with steel girders this was entirely overcome. He had gone fully into the cost, and

would give details in his paper. He was further induced to go into the relative strengths

of material, in consequence of the verdict of a coroner's jury in June, 1885. An inquest

was held at Brotton, in Cleveland, and although the jury decided that everything possible

had been done, they suggested that larch was a better material than Norwegian timber, and

that the latter was liable to snap suddenly. He, himself, was under the impression that

Norwegian and Riga timber was more liable to snap as compared with larch; but, on making

experiments, he found that the strength of larch was represented by 395, Norwegian 454, and

Riga 475, so that the jury and himself were mistaken. He did not quite learn from the paper

what Mr. Meyer's patent was. He should like to know what was embodied in the patent, and

the length of time it had been in operation.
Mr. Bird—So far as Mr. Meyer's patent was concerned, he only heard of it about three weeks

ago. It consisted in the placing of corrugated iron longitudinally from arch, to arch of

the road.
The President did not think this material to the business in hand. They were not an

authority upon patent rights.
Mr. Lawrence said, it struck him that the cost of labour in the two methods, for the length

of 19 feet 8 inches, was not quite correct. The labour for the supports was put down at £1

13s., and wages for timbering £1 4s. If the wages for putting in timber props—which, they

knew, were very readily put in—cost £1 4s., then he could not conceive that for the iron

work, which would require a lot of smithing, and be difficult to get into place, £1 13s.

for labour could be correct. With regard to the application of corrugated iron in mines, so

far as his experience went, he should think it would not last more than two years.

Corrugated iron went very rapidly; and he thought it would break out into holes, as they

frequently saw underneath railway bridges where the corrugated iron was exposed to water.

He had seen holes in such cases in two or three years. He thought this would be dangerous

for roofing, inasmuch as there would be a lot of debris on the top, and the fact of its

rotting would not be seen until it gave way.
Mr. W. H. Hedley said he noticed it was put forward, as an item in favour of the use of

iron work, that less blasting was required with
DISCUSSION—THE USE OF IRON SUPPORTS, ETC. 143
it than in putting up a masonry arch; and yet the cost of making room for the " combined

system " was shown to be greater than for the " masonry arch complete."
Mr. Bird, in reply to Mr. Lawrence's criticism of the comparative cost of labour, said he

was not in a position to add to the figures given in the paper. The figures were taken from

the mine inspectors' reports. It was possible, as Mr. Lawrence said, that the figures had

not been accurately given; but without further information he could not answer Mr.

Lawrence. As to the comparative cost of making room, mentioned by Mr. Hedley, his (Mr.

Bird's) idea was that the cost of making room on the combined system was the greater,

although the room required was less, because it was required to make it exactly and not to

have space to spare; and no doubt it would be done by pick work without blasting, while for

masonry work the greater part of the making room would be done by blasting, and

consequently would be cheaper.
The President tendered Mr. Bird the thanks of the members for the paper. In regard to the

use of iron it had always appeared to him that the disinclination which existed in this

country against the use of iron or steel, instead of wood, was most anomalous. He believed

he was within the mark when he said that there was no country in the world where iron was

more cheaply or better made than in England; and he further believed he was equally correct

when he said there was no country in the world where timber was dearer than in England. And

yet, with the single exception he believed of ship builders, there seemed to have been a

studied disinclination on the part of engineers to use iron instead of wood. He had

travelled over the railways of Europe, and he always made it his particular study to

examine the wagons and sleepers on the railways over which he travelled; and he found that

both the sides of wagons and the coverings of wagons were made of iron; and yet it was only

within—he was telling no secret—the last few years that the North-Eastern Railway Company

have consented to build 500 wagons constructed exclusively of steel and iron. Not using

iron he had felt to be a great injury to the great iron trade of the district, as well, he

thought, as a loss to the Railway Company.
Mr. T. E. Forster read the following paper " On Coal Nodules from the Bore-hole Seam at

Newcastle, New South Wales ":—
GOAL NODULES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES 145
COAL NODULES FROM THE BORE-HOLE SEAM AT NEWCASTLE, NEW SOUTH WALES.
By T. E. FORSTER, M.A.
The specimens shown are taken from the Bullock Island, Stockton and Australian Agricultural

Company's Collieries, at Newcastle, New South Wales, and are all from the " Bore-hole " or

Main Seam of the district. This seam is extensively worked at Newcastle and in the

immediate neighbourhood, almost the entire output of this coal-field, which in 1886

amounted to 2,178,000 tons, being drawn from it. It lies at a depth of about 300 feet under

the town of Newcastle, a short distance to the west of which it is found to crop out, the

line of outcrop running in a westerly direction past the Lambton and Wallsend Collieries,

wrhich work by means of adit levels, to the north of Lake Macquarie. The general dip of the

strata is in a southerly direction towards Sydney, which lies some 70 miles further south,

and is generally regarded as representing the centre or deepest part of the basin. Under

the hilly ground in the neighbourhood of the lake the seam is overlaid by a series of grits

and conglomerates of a peculiarly hard nature, as well as by several higher seams, the

identification of which is as yet a matter of doubt.
The presence of the nodules or balls of coal is of frequent occurrence, more especially in

the above-named collieries, and the seam is still further remarkable for the tendency of

the lines of cleavage to run more or less in a curved form, often causing the sides and

corners of the blocks of coal to present the partially rounded appearance peculiar to and

characteristic of the Newcastle coal.
The positions of the collieries named may be noticed on the accompanying sketch, Plate

XXXIII., on which also the depths in feet to the bottom of the seam at the different points

are given.
The surface is here part of the Delta of the Hunter River, and consists of beds of sand,

clay, and gravel, of considerable and varying thickness, deposited after the denudation of

the Coal-Measures, when the estuary of the river was of wider extent, owing to the lower

relative level of the
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

T
146 COAL NODULES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
adjacent land. These deposits have been proved to have a thickness of no less than 160 feet

at Bullock Island, where the presence of quicksands as well as at Stockton rendered the

employment of metal cylinders necessary during the sinking operations. The solid measures

overlying the coal consist of alternations of shales and sandstones, while the seam itself

rests on the thick bed of grey sandstone, which has been quarried near Waratah.
In this immediate vicinity the seam has a gentle inclination towards the harbour, i.e., in

a northerly direction, the greatly increased depth of the coal at Stockton being, in all

probability, due to a fault which, it is surmised, passes under the river bed, and the

existence of which is perhaps rendered more probable by the fact that the dip on the

Stockton side is in the contrary direction.
The following section of the seam is taken in the workings of the Australian Agricultural

Company's No. 2 Pit, about a mile east of the shaft and in the direction of Newcastle :—
Ft. In.
COAL, Top............... 3 0
Stone band ... ... ... ... ... 1
COAL—Biff Tops............ 4 5
Stone band ... ... ... ... ... 1
COAL-% Tops ...... ...... 1 5
Band—Morgan ... ... ... ... 4
COAL—Four-Inch............ 10
Stone band ... ... ... ... ... 1
COAL—Little Tops ......... 1 0
Band—Jerry ... ... ... ... ... 9
COAL, bottom ............ 3 3
15___3
COAL .....,......... 13 11
Bands..................1 4
At Bullock Island the section sunk through was :—
Ft. In.
COAL................ 7 0
Band ............... 0£
COAL ............... 3 4
Band—Morgan ... ... ... ... 1 2
COAL ...... ......... 3 0
Band—Jerry ... ... ... ... ... 6
COAL ............... 4 0
19 Oj
COAL ...............17 4
Bands..................1 8£
GOAL NODULES PROM NEW SOUTH WALES. 1 47
Only the lower portion of the seam is being worked here as yet; the dip is slight and

towards the harbour, wdrile the seam is practically free from faults or other disturbances.
At Stockton Colliery, sunk on the north side of the river, the seam in the immediate

neighbourhood of the shaft is in a very disturbed condition owing to a mass of intrusive

dolerite, appparently an overflow from some adjacent dyke as yet unproven, having forced

its way into the seam, which it has charred and destroyed in almost every direction,

spreading horizontally in sheets and tongues to Very considerable distances. It is probably

connected with one or other of the dykes which are visible at the surface in close

proximity to the Signal Hill, a third dyke, presenting an unusually fine section through

the cliff at Nobby's Head, where also the peculiar " chert" rock described in Mr. H. Plew's

paper* is exposed to view. (See Plate XXXIV.)
The seam is here divided into two distinct beds, between which, at the shaft, 6 feet of

shale is interstratified, caused most probably by the local thickening of the band known as

the Morgan.
The difficulties which have been met with in the shape of dykes and faults have rendered

the laying out of the workings of this colliery in a regular and orthodox manner an

impossibility, and consequently the upper and lower portions of the seam appear to have

been worked indiscriminately as the nature of the ground and the exigencies of the moment

demanded. The following is a full section of the seam :—
Ft. In. Ft. In. COAL, inferior......... 3 6
COAL ............ 4 3
Band ... ... ... ... 1
COAL ............ 3 3
Band............. 1
COAL ............ 14 r ft. in.
______9 o]COAL ¦•• 8 10
VBands ... 2
Shale ............ 6 0
COAL ............ 1 10
Band ... ... ... ... 1
COAL ............ 6 0
Band ............ 1
COAL ............ 11 r
______8 nJCOAL ... 8 9
iBands ... 2
23 11
Transactions, Vol. VI.
1-48 COAL NODULES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
Speaking generally, the coal under the estuary of the Hunter River is in appearance

particularly bright and clean, and of a very superior quality. It is shipped for steam and

gas purposes, for the last-named of which it is perhaps more especially fitted, giving high

results both in productive and lighting power.
It may here be noted that the exceedingly open nature of the " backs" or facings in the

seam is a further characteristic of this coal. These facings, which are exceedingly well

defined and open, often present, when bared, a smooth and polished surface, so much so that

the course of the headings is frequently determined by that of the backs, between two of

which the places are driven.
In the workings of the Stockton Colliery, where the coal is in an unusually disturbed

condition, the nodules occur with the greatest frequency, and may be easily separated from

the surrounding coal, which splits away from them with the greatest readiness. The seam at

this colliery is remarkable, not only for its splendid proportions, but also for its

extremely bright and rich appearance, which gives the working places a strong resemblance

to those in the Pennsylvanian anthracite mines, the glitter of the coal and the height of

the workings combining to form an impressive sight. The cleavage of the coal is in some

parts of the pit noticeable for a series of small impressions or concavities about the size

of and resembling roughly in shape a mussel shell raised vertically on its longest edge.

The coal at Stockton is more tender than that worked either at Bullock Island or at the

Australian Agricultural Company's Collieries, and therefore less fitted for transport and

rough handling.
The question of the formation of these nodules is one on which, so far as is known, no

explanations or suggestions have been offered, and the solution of which can only be a

matter of vague surmise. To some extent the nodules appear to have a more or less

concretionary structure, and to be, roughly speaking, composed of several concentric

layers, through which the ordinary cleavage of the coal passes, while in others thin layers

may be observed, resembling the coats of an onion. (See Plates XXXV. and XXXVI.)
On first consideration it might be assumed that the peculiarly disturbed state of the

ground in which the workings are being prosecuted at Stockton, where the nodules occur with

the greatest frequency, is to some extent accountable for or connected with their

existence. Looking, however, to the fact that the nodules are so closely imbedded in the

seam, being in appearance and quality of the same nature and one and the same with the

surrounding coal, and also to the disturbance having
COAL NODULES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES. 149
been almost entirely due to the basaltic overthrow of later date, which has altered and

cindered the seam in its immediate vicinity only, it would hardly seem probable that their

occurrence is anything further than a coincidence.
In a paper on the composition of New South Wales coals, read before the Royal Society of

New South "Wales by Professor Liversidge of Sydney, an account of a coal nodule from the

Waratah Colliery is given.
Professor Liversidge describes this nodule as being an anthracitic coal, and apparently of

a concretionary nature. On being struck with a hammer, the mass flew to pieces as if it had

been in a state of strain or tension, the fragments being small, and showing conchoidal

fracture surfaces.
The analysis of this nodule which is given differs from that of the ordinary sample of the

seam from the same colliery, containing a slightly larger percentage of carbon and less

ash, the analysis being as follows:—
Sample of Seam. Nodule.
Carbon ......... 81-06 83-828
Hydrogen ......... 5'81 5*437
Oxygen ......... 6"52 8-236
Sulphur ......... 1-14 -190
Nitrogen ......... 1-23 -530
Ash ... ......... 4-24 1-779
Specific gravity ...... 1-303 T294
Proximate Analysis.
Seam. Nodule.
Moisture ......... 2-21 3-32
Volatile hydrocarbons .., 3670 32-41
Fixed carbon ...... 55*82 62-35
Ash............ 415 1-72
Sulphur ......... T12 -19
It may, however, be mentioned, that the first analysis is that of a sample of the whole of

the seam, and the fact that the composition of the several beds comprised in it are

distinctly different may perhaps explain the discrepancy.
The numerous open facings and the well-defined cleavage of the coal, with its singular

tendency to curvature, seem to be unusual conditions which may probably open the way to a

more feasible explanation, and it is possible that their formation is due to this alone.
150 DISCUSSION—COAL NODULES FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
The President said, lie should be very glad if any gentleman would give an explanation of

how these nodules came to be formed.
Mr. Steavenson said, he did not rise to make any comment upon the paper, but would like to

take this opportunity of congratulating the Institute upon the fact that the writer of this

paper was the third generation of the family he had had the pleasure of hearing here. He

did not know whether there was gas in the seams or not ?
Mr. T. E. Forster said, the seam was generally free from gas. In the pits there gas was

almost unknown. They lay very near to the surface.
The President said, it was his duty to thank Mr. Forster for his very excellent paper,

which was a most interesting and instructive one.
Mr. Hugh Bramwell read " Notes on the Horizon of the Low Main Seam in a portion of the

Durham Coal-field," as follows:—
THE HORIZON OF THE LOW MAIN SEAM, ETC. 151
NOTES ON THE HORIZON OF THE LOW MAIN SEAM IN A PORTION OF THE DURHAM COAL-FIELD.
By HUGH BEAM WELL.
In the following notes the writer would draw attention to the change of horizon of the Low

Main Seam, in that portion of the Durham coal-field which has the town of Sunderland as a

centre, and which extends as far as the Tyne, Pensher, and Seaham, to the north, west, and

south. In so doing, it is also necessary to mention one or two of the other peculiarities

exhibited in the shaft sections referred to. Although well known in the immediate

neighbourhood, the detailed correlation of the seams in this area does not appear to have

been previously recorded, and it is hoped that the information collected may form an

appendix to the general synopsis of the coal-seams recently compiled by Mr. Walton Brown.*
In order to clearly trace the position of the various seams to which attention is directed,

three sets of detailed shaft sections are appended (Plates XXXVIII., XXXIX., and XL.),

whilst the conclusions to be drawn from an examination of these are shown on Plate XXXVII.
NOTES ON THE SHAFT SECTIONS L, II., AND III.
Plate XXXVIII.—The correlation of the seams between the Maudlin and the Hutton, in the St.

Hilda and Wearmouth sections, must be regarded as doubtful; it, however, appears to be

probable that the seam called the Six-Quarter in the former is represented at the latter

point by several thin seams lying immediately below the Maudlin.
At Wearmouth the Maudlin appears with a distinct " bottom coal," below which, as stated,

are two other thin seams, all within a foot or two of each other.
At Ryhope the Maudlin " bottom coal" is 4 feet 10 inches thick and separated from the seam

itself by a band only 2 inches thick. (In the Ryhope sinking account the seam lying 9

fathoms below the Maudlin is called the " Low Main.")
* See Transactions, Vol. XXXVIL, page 3.
152 THE HORIZON OF THE LOW MAIN SEAM, ETC.
The thick well-defined " bottom coal" of the Maudlin continues in that position to within a

short distance of the Seaham Shaft, when it rapidly descends, and in the shaft section

exists as a separate seam—the Low Main—some 10 fathoms below the Maudlin. Tracing this Low

Main Seam to Murton and South Hetton, there appears to be no doubt as to its identity with

the well-known seam of that name in the southern
portion of the coal-field.
Plate XXXIX.—A staple sunk about two miles west of the Seaham Shaft proves the same change

of horizon, the Low Main Seam again forming the bottom coal of the Maudlin at the staple.
At Eppleton the seams are, however, separate. The Eppleton section is easily correlated

with those of Rainton and Lumley.
Attention is here drawn to the position of the Brass Thill Seam at Lumley and Rainton, and

its probable representatives at Eppleton.
Plate XL.—At Houghton the Low Main Seam exhibits a tendency to split, and at Newbottle it

appears to be represented by three distinct
seams.
The division is carried still further at Pensher, whilst at Boldon and St. Hilda its

horizon is occupied by two or more seams, one of which at the last-mentioned place is the

Six-Quarter of the Tyne
district.
Attention is also drawn to the probable identity of the seam called the Low Main at Ryhope,

with that called the Five-Quarter at Boldon and St. Hilda, also to its position as compared

with the representatives of the Brass Thill Seam at Eppleton.
CONCLUSIONS DRAWN. From the foregoing sections it is submitted that there is sufficient

evidence to warrant the following conclusions :—
1.—That the Low Main Seam of South Durham forms the " bottom coal" of the Maudlin, over the

area shaded horizontally on the accompanying plan, Plate XXXVII. 2.—That to the north and

north-west of this area it leaves the Maudlin by successive splits, the area shaded

vertically on the plan representing that portion of the coal-field in which a part of this

seam still remains as Maudlin " bottom coal." 3.—That it is finally represented either in

whole or part by the Six-Quarter Seam of the Tyne.
the horizon of the low main seam, etc. 153
4.—That the seam called the " Low Main " in the Ryhope section is the Five-Quarter Seam of

the Tyne, and is possibly identical in whole or part with the Brass Thill Seam of the Wear.

In a correlation of coal-seams it is sometimes stated that " thin seams " are of little

value as guides, on account of their liability to thin out altogether. They are,

however, just as liable to thicken; hence it was thought necessary, in the foregoing

sections, to give as complete details as were available.
The President—The discussion on Mr. Bramwell's paper, and that on Mr. Walton Brown's paper

" On a further attempt for the Correlation of the Coal Seams of the Carboniferous Formation

of the North of England; with some Notes on the Probable Duration of the Coalfield," were

adjourned at Mr, Marley's request.
The following papers were open for discussion; but none took place:—
" On the Coal-field of Tkiboulli (Caucasus)," by Charles J. Murton;
" On Bornet's Hand Boring Machine," by E. L. Dumas;
" On Ackroyd and Best's Patent Safety-Lamp Cleaning Machine,"
by William Ackroyd; " On an improved form of Seismoscope," by Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S.,

etc.
The meeting concluded.
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 155
PEOCEE DINGS.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6th, 1888.
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL
ENGINEERS, 25, GREAT GEORGE STREET, LONDON.
Sib LOWTHIAN BELL, Baet., in the Chaie.
FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
Present.—Sir Lowthian Bell, Bart., Messrs. J. Marley, A. L. Steavenson, M. Walton Brown, W.

Cochrane, T. J. Bewick, W. Ann-strong, Jim., J. Daglish, and T. Forster Brown (North of

England Institute); W. H. Howard, J. Jackson, and M. H. Mills (Chesterfield); Professor

Benton and Mr. Alex. Smith (South Staffordshire); Messrs. G. B. Walker, Jos. Mitchell, T.

W. H. Mitchell, and A. M. Chambers (Midland); R. Haines and J. Lucas (North Staffordshire);

and Professor G. A. Lebour (Secretary).
Mr. T. Forster Brown begged to propose that Sir Lowthian Bell take the chair.
Mr. W. Cochrane seconded the resolution.
The resolution was carried unanimously.
The Chairman said, he would not detain them at any great length, because he presumed that

tbey had all made themselves acquainted with the business upon which they had met that

morning. It was to discuss a project which, although set on foot mainly by a paper which

had been read before the North of England Institute a few months ago, yet he believed the

credit of originating the scheme itself was due to his friend and predecessor------
Mr. J. Daglish—It goes further back than that, Sir Lowthian. It was in the time of Mr.

Forster's presidency.
The Chairman said, it seemed to be buried in the mists of a remote antiquity; it had lived

during all that time, and had never been called into operation. They had met there that

morning in order to hear their views upon the subject, and to ascertain whether it would be

favourably received, so as to j ustify the North of England Institute of Mining and

Mechanical Engineers proceeding in their attempts to carry it into execution.
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

V"
156 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
So far as he was personally concerned, he might say at once that he was in favour of the

scheme, and, if for no other reason than this, that by the co-operation of all the mining

engineers in the country they must, he thought, expect that they would get by a more direct

road to the truth, in connection with those enquiries which it was their business to

originate and discuss, than they could do single-handed. In the first place, the

enquiries themselves must more or less take the colour and direction of the peculiar

coal-field in which they originate, and, to correct this when necessary, it could not but

be of very great advantage that the experience of one district should be compared with the

experience of other districts. In addition to these, there were many questions which

were almost beyond the means (he meant beyond the financial means) of a single body to

investigate, but which might quite easily be brought within the powers of the union of

Mining Institutes like their own. The prospectus placed in their hands very properly

pointed out the example of other bodies of a cognate character, which they might themselves

follow with advantage. They had the Society of Chemical Industry. Now, he believed

the North of England had the credit of being one of the first, if not the first, to

originate a Society of Chemical Industry. The London Society soon followed; and it saw

the desirability of gathering within its fold, as it were, the Societies of Chemical

Industry from the provinces which led to its establishment. The Iron and Steel

Institute, of which he (the Chairman) was one of the early promoters, began at once as an

Institute embracing the iron trade of every part of the country. If an instance were

wanted to point out the desirability of such a mode of procedure, it was that afforded by

the Iron and Steel Institute. He believed that there was no industrial Institute in the

country which rose so rapidly to a position of eminence and usefulness. In speaking of

the desirability of co-operation, he might mention one case in the history of that body

which seemed worthy of notice, where it was thought desirable to investigate the so-called

mechanical puddler, an American invention, and in order to do that in the most satisfactory

way, the Iron and Steel Institute appointed four gentlemen—four, if he remembered rightly,

" commissioners" as they called them—who were deputed to visit, and did visit, the

United States, in order to examine the nature and success attending the use of mechanical

puddling—a matter at that time of very great importance, because, as they all knew, the

labour in puddling was an extremely severe one, which it was desired to alleviate. These

gentlemen went over there, and reported fully upon the mechanical puddler; and although,

practically, it died a natural death in this country, it must
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MUSING INSTITUTES. 157
not be inferred on that account that they disagreed with the report of the commissioners,

but because the introduction of steel had in a great measure superseded puddled iron.
He would just mention another matter which was germane to their own particular profession:

he meant the question of coking coal. Now there had been various kinds of coking ovens

recommended, and different kinds had been tried without a proper consideration of the

quality of coal to be treated. In consequence considerable sums of money had been wasted

which might have been saved had the subject been examined with the care its importance

deserved. He could not but think that if mining engineers in other parts had heard of the

experience of the North country coke manufacturers possibly large sums of money would have

been saved.
Now, might he venture, in a company of mining engineers, to say a few words in regard to

the Davy lamp ? The Davy lamp was an invention made fifty years ago or more. He believed it

was only very recently discovered that the presence of fine coal-dust in the interior of a

Davy lamp might constitute a source of danger. Then, more recently, they had been told how

dangerous the presence of coal-dust in the workings might be in promoting explosions, or at

all events intensifying the effects of explosions. Having regard to the very small quantity

of coal-dust which might convert atmospheric air into a highly explosive mixture, he

thought the importance of a proper investigation, which might be undertaken by the united

colliery districts, could not very well be over-rated.
These were a few of the ideas which had led him to give his ready and very hearty

willingness to co-operate with the other Mining Institutes of the country in securing the

combination that he had endeavoured to bring before them.
He would now call upon their Secretary, Professor Lebour, to let them know what progress

the movement had made in other quarters than the North of England, and then they would be

better able to judge, he thought, of the probability of their carrying to a successful

issue the establishment of a federation of the chief coal Mining Institutes of this

country.
Professor Lebour (Secretary) then read abstracts of the replies which had been received

from the various Mining Institutes to the question which was addressed to them generally—"

Is or is not such an arrangement as that outlined in Mr. Bunning's paper desirable ?" The

Chesterfield and Midland Institute, in a letter of December 12th, 1887, answered the

question in the affirmative, and appointed Messrs. J.
158 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
Jackson and M. H. Mills as representatives. They had confirmed this answer by sending their

representatives there that day. The Midland Institute, by their letter of January 16th,

1888, considered the scheme desirable, and named Messrs. T. W. Embleton, A. M. Chambers, W.

Carrington, J. H. Walker, and Joseph Mitchell as representatives. They also had sent their

representatives, and so far, therefore, confirmed their previous letter. The North

Staffordshire Institute had appointed Messrs. J. Lucas, W. Y. Craig, and Richard Haines as

representatives ; but they did not say whether they agreed to the scheme or not. The South

Staffordshire Institute considered the scheme desirable, and had appointed Messrs. W. B.

Scott, J. Hughes, and Alex. Smith as representatives. Their representatives had also come

to that meeting. The Mining Institute of Scotland, from their letter of December 30th,

1887, were generally of opinion that afederation for the purposes contemplated in the paper

was inexpedient and unnecessary,' inasmuch as the Mining Association of Great Britain

already occupied the position proposed to be established. He should add, however, that in

the letter in which the Secretary stated this, he added that his personal opinion was that

the Mining Association of Great Britain had nothing to do with the matter at all. There

was, however, an expression of opinion that an arrangement might be made for the first

publication of Transactions somewhat similar to that proposed in the paper; but no

representatives had been appointed to attend this meeting. That had been confirmed by a

letter received quite recently—they still wished to have nothing to do with the scheme. The

South Wales Institute were not disposed at present to appoint a committee as suggested.

That was in a letter dated October 27th, 1887, and that action had been confirmed. The

Mining Institute of Cornwall were of opinion that the time had not yet arrived for the

Society to join the proposed federation. That also had been confirmed. The Manchester

Geological Society, although its expression of opinion was informal only, was adverse to

the proposal. They had also declined to send representatives to the meeting.
The Chairman said, in the meantime, he would be very glad to hear the views of any

gentleman present upon the subject.
Mr. Jackson, as representing the Chesterfield Mining Institute, the first on the paper

before them, said that their council was quite of the opinion that a federation of this

sort would be desirable, and of great advantage to the mining community of Great Britain.

But as an Institute they did not desire to lose their individuality; they would be glad to

be, as it were, a branch of a federation; but the difficulties they saw were,
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 159
that they had so many members amongst them that were under-viewers or students-—young men

who were learning mining engineering, and also workmen in the pits—a class of men who at

home were in a position to take part in discussions, and to take an active interest in the

welfare of their Institute. They felt that if they became extinct, and attempted to embody

themselves in one large federation, they would be doing an injury and an injustice to a

large class who ably supported them; but as to the general principle of the thing they were

very strongly in favour of it. They also advocated the idea of Mr. Bunning, namely, with

regard to papers, that if there was a general federation they would in time be able to send

the papers that were written, first, to a central committee, which would have the power of

saying whether they were worthy to be read before the General Institute or not, and then

confining to themselves the right of reading those papers and discussing them at home. But

the better ones would go to the general committee, and, if worth anything, would be

received in the Institute. Then another question came before them, namely, that of expense.

They felt that if they still had to continue the same subscription, and contribute a guinea

for the privilege he had mentioned, that would be detrimental to their interests. Mr. Mills

and himself had come there to express these views, and to do what they could to further the

objects of the meeting, so long as it was not going to place them at a disadvantage, or to

make them extinct at Chesterfield.
Mr. Bewick said, he would merely suggest that each gentleman, as he addressed the meeting,

should say for what Institute he appeared.
Mr. Mills said, as the other member for the Chesterfield Institute, he simply wished to say

that he endorsed what Mr. Jackson had already said. There was a strong feeling in their

Institution that such an Institution as the late Mr. Bunning had proposed should be

established. As to the exact details of that Institution, of course neither they nor their

Institute were able to say anything at present; but he was sure of this, that they had the

strongest feeling that some sort of Institution such as the late Mr. Bunning had proposed

should be established. He hoped that that meeting would arrange some of the details

necessary.
Mr. Walker, on behalf of the Midland Mining Institute, said he could hardly add anything to

what had already been said by Mr. Jackson. They felt, as he did, that their Institute was

not so important, nor composed of men (in great part, he meant) of such high status, as the

North of England Mining Institute; and recognizing as they did, that theirs was a weaker

Institution, and that it had a particular work to do amongst
160 DISCUSSION—FEDEKATION OF MINING- INSTITUTES.
the class of men Mr. Jackson had mentioned, namely, to a large extent amongst

under-managers, under-viewers, deputies, and mining students, they could not help feeling

that anything that tended in any way to make their Institution less suitable to their needs

would be a loss to them, and therefore, although they desired very thoroughly to support

the idea of a federation of Mining Institutes, they did feel that in drawing up a scheme

for that purpose the council ought to bear in mind the nature of Institutions like theirs,

whose status, perhaps, was somewhat more humble than that of the North of England

Institute, from which the proposal originally came. The council of the Midland Institute

very thoroughly agreed in the general idea of the late Mr. Bunning's scheme; but still, it

lacked precision. It was put forward merely in the first instance as a feeler to elicit, he

presumed, the views of the different mining engineers throughout the country; and that

being so, it remained, as it were, to formulate at that meeting, if the idea was gone on

with, something of a more definite kind which the different councils of the different

Institutions might consider. They did not gather from the paper very clearly to what extent

the subscription to their own Institution would have to be increased. Their subscription

was only a guinea, and that guinea was a good deal to men of the class he had alluded

to—such as under-managers and so on; and they could not recommend anything that very

largely increased the amount of the subscription. Then again, they would like to know what

was to be done in the case of those papers which were perhaps somewhat old to the

profession as a whole, but which it was very desirable should be brought before local

Institutions? There were certain papers which had appeared in the old numbers of the North

of England Mining Institute Transactions, in connection with the special features which had

been dealt with in particular collieries. He remembered a very curious question on

ventilation—he thought it was at Pontop Colliery—which was brought forward by the late Mr.

Atkinson, Government Inspector of Mines, and which he treated in such a way as brought out

very clearly the principles of natural ventilation, and the influence of the different

sizes of shafts, and so on. Those papers, to a certain extent, were bu.rjed in the old

numbers of the Transactions of the North of England Institute; and something of a similar

character might be brought forward by some one in another district and re-treated. Well,

the feeling of the profession might be—" This is very old; this is something we do not very

much care to be told again;" and yet, for the kind of people they had in their minds, it

might be exceedingly useful. No one could read the correspondence in the
DISCUSSION—FEDEEATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 1G1
weekly newspapers, such as the Colliery Guardian and the Iron and Coal Trades Review,

without seeing that these papers were being constantly made the medium of correspondence of

interest. Therefore, one thing he should very much like the present meeting to consider

was—in how far they could permit to the different Institutions some freedom as to the

selection of papers, and not impose too rigid a rule as to those which should be submitted

for acceptance. Had he known that Mr. Chambers was there, he would have much preferred that

that gentleman should have said what was to be said on behalf of their Institution. Later

on, perhaps, Mr. Chambers might give them their views more clearly.
Mr. Lucas said, speaking for the North Staffordshire Mining Association and Mechanical

Engineers, they found themselves in a similar position to that of the former speakers, and

something beyond that. Their Institution was composed partly of mechanical engineers, and

it would affect those members if one part of the whole, the mechanical element, which used

to combine with them, refused to subscribe. He (Mr. Lucas) had very little to say about it,

because he thought the former speakers had said everything. So far as he was concerned he

would simply add that personally he was strongly in favour of federation, because he saw

its necessity, not only as a federation to promote their common well-being, and to exchange

views and that sort of thing, but it would be a very powerful instrument in the hands of a

Mining Association as regards resolutions from such a federation, for example, if it went

before the Home Secretary on matters of mining interest. In fact, on the late Mines

Regulation Bill, he knew the difficulties that they had to contend against there, so that

personally he was strongly in favour of such a federation being formed, but he was at a

loss to define the means, and he would advocate in their Institution the formation of such

a federation.
Mr. Haines said, he also represented North Staffordshire Association, and he could only

endorse what Mr. Lucas, and also the representatives of the Chesterfield and the Midland

Institution, had already said. The mining engineers of North Staffordshire, he might say,

most heartily supported the scheme, but the colliery managers and the other members of

their body, who were not mining engineers pure and simple, did not see their way as a body

to join it. He was sure it would have the hearty support of all those who practice as

mining engineers, and he believed that advantage might accrue from it, but, as a body, he

thought they had expressed very nearly the same views as those of the representatives from

the Chesterfield and Midland Institute.
162 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OP MINING INSTITUTES.
Mr. Smith said, as representing the South Staffordshire Institute of Mining Engineers, he

would simply express the opinion given by the council of their Institution when this matter

came before them, and that was that they thought there could scarcely be two opinions upon

the subject, and certainly that such a scheme as that suggested by Mr. Bun-ning was very

desirable. It was rather surprising to see some of the objections and answers given on the

paper that they had before them. No one but the secretary of an Institution could so fully

appreciate some of the troubles and difficulties set forth by Mr. Bunning in his paper.

They found very often that inventors and suggesters of schemes for the improvement of

mining science brought their papers to them and made them a sort of advertisement; and

although, in the rules of almost every Institution, it was laid down distinctly that papers

were the copyright of the Institution, still they constantly found that the same papers

were being read throughout the country. Then again, there was no doubt whatever that if

they could have Transactions of a Central Institution as suggested, they would be a very

valuable addition to the mining literature of the age. Another thing was that, having a

Central Institution where all the great questions would be thoroughly investigated, they

would not have the difficulties they sometimes met with in the local districts, where they

sometimes, he might almost say, floundered upon some questions because they were not fully

conversant with the whole of the ideas involved, or where they had not the advantage of

getting the pick and selection of the mining science of the day. All that would be at an

end if the questions were considered by a Central Institution. A great many of the

objections—well, not exactly objections, but doubts—expressed by previous speakers, were

really met in Mr. Bunning's paper. In regard to the subscriptions, for instance, it was not

a sine qua non in accordance with the paper, as he read it, if the Institution adopted the

idea, that the whole of the members should join—that the Institution should come over as a

body— they might be federated, but they might have a considerable number of their members

(it was distinctly stated there) who might not be members of the Central Institution. That

was very well dealt with in Mr. Bunning's paper, and although he stated distinctly that

they should not lose their individuality, every Institution, as the gentlemen before have

expressed it, would object strongly to the scheme if there was an idea that they would lose

themselves, as it were, in the Central Association. Mr. Bunning pretty clearly put it, that

such a thing was not desirable, because of the varying requirements of the different

districts, and he (Mr. Smith) did not see that really he contemplated such a thing in his

paper
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 16?>
Mr. Chambers said, he did not think he had anything to add to what had been already said.

The Midland Institute thoroughly approved of the scheme generally, though criticising some

of the details. They were particularly anxious, having regard to the great number of

members, as Mr. Walker had already said, that their subscriptions should not be increased.

He did not entirely endorse that himself, because, of course, they were going to get

additional benefits, and he thought they ought to be willing to pay something for them, and

he was quite sure a scheme of that kind would be a great benefit to the whole of the mining

districts of the country. They approved of it generally, and should be happy to co-operate

as regards the details of the scheme.
Mr. Howard—Mr. Bewick suggested that each speaker should say for what Institute he

appeared, but as he had not been delegated formally by the Institute with which he was

immediately connected (the Chesterfield Institution) he did not know whether his summons

there came from the North or Midland Institution. He felt a little more at liberty perhaps

than he otherwise would, in consequence of not having been delegated by the Chesterfield

Institution, to express the opinions formed in his mind, namely, that it was scarcely

federation that was practicable in their case. It was more like affiliation to a Central

Institution. He thought, however they were to go about it, that would be the result, and he

thought it was well worthy of the consideration of the gentlemen then present; and his hope

was that, before the meeting separated, something would be formulated of that character

that the delegates could take back with them to their several councils and put before them

; and also that means should be taken to ascertain what strength there was and what

probability there was of establishing a Central Institution, with the object of assisting

and furthering the views and objects of the local societies, and doing all the good that a

Central Institution could do to them ; not draining them, but really helping them on, and

charging them no more than need be for anything that it might do for them. There would have

to be something, he thought, in the way of contributions from the societies for anything

that was done for them, but it would have to take that form rather than that which had been

suggested in the paper. He saw great difficulties with regard to the class of members that

they and other Institutions of the same kind had; and there was no doubt the Central

Institution would be composed of what they would term the cream of the profession. The

subscription itself would, no doubt, do that to a great extent, and, he thought that that

being so, the thing would be worked out best upon those lines.
VOL. XXXVII,—1888.

W
1G4 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
Mr. Forster Brown said, lie was there, not as representing the South Wales Institute of

Engineers, of which he happened to be a member, but as a member of the North of England

Institute. He had long held that the mining interests of the country, with which the mining

profession particularly have so much to do, were of sufficient importance to justify a

Central Institute, which would add weight to the particular mining profession, both for

legislative and for other purposes ; and from that point of view he had gone so far as to

hold that the parent Institute (the North of England Institute) ought to take the thing up,

and, whatever the consequences were, to promulgate a proper scheme. But the effect of Mr.

Bunning's paper, and the opinions that had been expressed that day, showed that

five-eighths of the whole of the Mining Institutions of the country were in favour of such

a scheme; and it seemed to him that the next step to take was that a committee should be

appointed, and that the gentlemen representing all those Institutions which were in favour

of federation should be members of that committee, with a view to propounding some scheme

of an Institution in London, leaving and still maintaining the local Institutions, but

which would ultimately become the Mining Institute of England. And he had not the slightest

doubt that if such an Institution was started on a sound basis all those dissentients would

join in due time.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, the great doubt in his mind was whether the thing was

financially possible. That it would be advisable in the interests of the profession of

mining engineers there could be no doubt; but, looking at Institutions of a similar

character, so far as he could read the matter, the Mechanical Engineers spent £4,000 a year

in doing what they practically proposed to do with the Imperial Institute; and he did not

see how it was possible with an additional subscription of one guinea to meet all the

contemplated expense. If it would not do so, it was possible that members such as they had

now in the various Institutes would be able to contribute to the funds of the council.

Again, he would refer to the possibility of there being drawn away from the local

Institutes a good many of the members of their Institute belonging to South Wales and

Yorkshire. He thought those members would entirely give up their connection with the

Institute at Newcastle. That course might tend to spoil their local Institutions, although

it might be beneficial to the Central Institution. There was just one other point, and that

was as to the decisions upon the papers which were to be printed by the Central or Imperial

Institute. Mr. Bunning, he thought, in his paper suggested that a meeting of the council

should be held at certain times to select the
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING- INSTITUTES. 165
papers that were to be printed; but he considered it was very essential that they should be

decided upon at the time they were in print; because if the type had to be taken down and

renewed it would add materially to the cost of producing the Transactions; so that that was

a difficulty which would be met, he thought, by a very competent secretary. The central

secretary in London would be better able to select the papers that he thought suitable, and

would do it better than a committee; he would sit more as an impartial arbitrator in the

matter, and decide what he thought best for the Institute. He could then at once give

orders for the type and the plates to be put in hand and printed at a much less expense

than if first done by the local centres, or if done for the local centres and afterwards

reprinted for the Central Institute.
Mr. Chambers said, he did not know whether it was taken for granted that because Mr.

Bunning had suggested that the Central Institute should be formed in London, those who

approved of the scheme generally agreed to that part of it.
The Chairman—Certainly not.
Mr. Chambers thought that was assumed by one or two speakers.
Professor Benton said, he had nothing to add to what they had already heard. He saw in Mr.

Bunning's paper the germs of an excellent scheme, and he was waiting, personally, with

great impatience to see its full development.
Mr. Cochrane said, there was one remark he should like to make. It was thrown out by one of

the members that the federation should be a body dealing with parliamentary matters and

resolutions being passed in that direction had been mentioned. He took it that their

impression would be that such a federation would be for scientific purposes only. If those

Institutions were to federate with any idea whatever of troubling themselves about the

outlying matters which were indicated in the speech which fell from one gentleman, he

thought it would be a great mistake. That was his impression at the present moment. He was

quite capable of being impressed otherwise afterwards, but he thought the object of their

Institute—at any rate, in the North of England—had been so strictly confined to the

scientific and purely mining part of engineering, that he should be sorry to see any

Association connected with that body that was otherwise intended. He also saw the great

difficulty of dealing with an entire Institute and saying that that Institute was to pass

over to the federation as an Institute, thereby forcing all its members to become

chargeable therewith; and he was certain that Mr. Steavenson's prophecy would turn out to

be accurate, namely, a considerably increased
166 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
expense ; nor did he quite agree with other speakers who said the cream of the profession

would go up there—by which, he was certain, they meant not the cream intellectually, but

the cream so far as their pockets were concerned. It would be a great mistake if the

federation aimed at that, or thought that that was the way in which a federation was going

to be supported. The scheme certainly ought to encourage not members as a body but each

individual of his own voluntary action to come out from the existing Institutes and join

the federation under arrangements made by each local Institute as regarded each member,

having due regard to their status in that body, whether under-viewers, mining engineers,

rich men or poor men, and it should be left voluntarily to each local society to make all

such arrangements as to distribution of Proceedings (which, after all, was the great thing)

and the attendance upon the joint meetings as they liked; but to force any member of a

local Institute into any higher subscription than what he now pays, would, to his mind, be

a very great mistake. One other thing was, the subject of the use of papers which already

were almost taken as text books, and particularly in the North of England Institute of

Mining Engineers. That was a very important point. He thought it was Mr. Jackson who

mentioned that. If the affiliation was to be perfect and thorough, one of the items they

would have to consider would be a retrospective affiliation as well as a forward one. They

had, as every other Institute had, a very strong idea upon the subject of the copyright and

value of their Proceedings. Many of the Proceedings of the North of England Institute were

at that moment absolutely out of print. He did not say that that Institute would be

prepared to give up the question of copyright; but, certainly, he thought, if the

affiliation was to be perfect, that it would be a very desirable thing to consider the

question of allowing an absolute reprint of those papers in other local Transactions;

therefore, if they really intended to marry, they must go in for better or for worse, and

they would have to make such a consideration as that retrospective as well as general in

the future.
Mr. Marley said, he should have been glad if their ex-President (Mr. Daglish) had given

them his views first, as being to a certain extent, prior to Mr. Bunning, the father of the

idea which was contained in the paper; but as Mr. Daglish had not done so, he would state

very shortly some of his views upon the question. He might say, to begin with, that it was

desirable that a federation of some kind should be carried out. Mr. Bunning in his paper

might have pitched the case a little too high, although it was probably well to aim high so

as to get a medium result.
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 167
There was no doubt that the question of finance would be a very important one, and as was

suggested to Mr. Daglish four years ago, when they first entered upon the subject, equally

important would it be that the local Institutes should not lose their individuality. These

were some of the points, after hearing the speakers that morning, to be agreed upon. The

other matters would, to a very great extent, become details; for instance, it seemed that

they were sufficiently unanimous so far, and that there was a sufficient adhesion to show

that joint publication should be carried out; but that the members of a whole Institute

should be transferred to the federated one did not seem desirable. The respective societies

would probably federate for the purpose of publication, leaving it to their members'

option, at some small individual increased fee, to become members of the federated society

or not; and that would to a very great extent probably facilitate the question of

finance—that was to say, they would save money in all probability by joint publication of

selected parts of their respective Proceedings; and then the other expense would be met by

special fees at the option of the individual members. As regarded the parliamentary

question he was glad that Mr. Cochrane had touched upon that, because, although their

Scotch friends said that the Mining Association of Great Britain would meet all that was

required, that was not the case. Parliamentary matters should certainly be outside the

scope of such an Institute, and the federation and the respective Institutions should not

meddle with anything but what was scientific and for the saving of life—in fact that which

was laid down by their first President as the principles upon which the North of England

Institute was formed. These were the principal points which, subject to details, he thought

they were in a position to carry out.
Mr. Steavenson said, there was one point which might be attended to at once, whether they

went on with the Institute or not; that was to provide the members of every Association

(there were nine of them) with a copy of the index of their annual Proceedings, so that

they might know exactly where to find any paper which had been published during the last

year in any one of the societies' Transactions. It would at once keep them up to the mark

as to what had been done all over the country. That might be forwarded to every member of

every Institute.
Mr. Daglish, in answer to the Chairman, said, he had really very little to say because, he

thought, every point that could bear upon the question had already been touched upon. He

made a few notes when they commenced, and, with their permission, he would just draw

attention to the scheme which seemed to suggest itself to him, and several others
168 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
with whom he had been in communication, as being the most practical, and that was to

confine the federation very greatly to simply publishing joint Transactions, and, if that

were so, it must be more economical than the present system. It could not lead to a greater

expenditure, but would lead to a less expenditure. It would not be necessary to publish the

whole of the nine volumes which were now published by the various Mining Institutes, for

the reason which had already been given by several gentlemen, namely, that many of the

papers were already duplicated, others were papers of only temporary interest, others of a

purely local interest which it would not be necessary to publish in the more expensive

form. In the French Mining Association (La Societe" de l'lndustrie Minerale) they publish

two sets of Transactions. They publish very elaborate and beautifully got up Transactions

of their more important papers; but they also publish, in a very cheap pamphlet form, the

papers of a more temporary or unimportant character. If such a scheme could be adopted, it

would suggest itself that there should be a committee of selection, and that possibly each

Institute would do that for itself. There might be some control over that by a joint

publishing committee ; and it would be only selected papers that would be published in the

larger form, leaving out, for the time being, the consideration of publishing the papers of

mere temporary interest in a cheaper form. In that way, he thought, they would get all the

important and interesting papers read at each Institute which at present they did not see.

In addition to the joint publication of Transactions might be added the privilege of

membership of each other's Association, so that if a paper was read at any particular

Association any member could attend, if he had a special interest in that subject, and take

part in the discussion, not as a matter of favour, but as a matter of right. A second

question of very great importance, which had already been touched upon, was that of

investigations for special objects. Many of them had been repeated at nearly every

Institute. Almost every Institute had had committees upon Safety-Lamps, and upon Fans, and

now upon Explosives. The North of England Institute had just appointed a committee upon

Explosives, and he thought the Midland Institute had recently conducted investigations on

the same subject. They had now formed amongst three of the Institutes (and they would meet

again that day on the matter) a joint committee for Fan investigation, and, he ventured to

think, it would be attended with very excellent results. Touching on a matter mentioned by

Mr. Cochrane, and supported, he thought, by Mr. Marley, he would venture to say, in

reference to parliamentary questions, that many of them bore upon
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 1G9
scientific subjects, which were not dealt with in the least by the Mining Associations. In

the last Mines Act, the question of the safety-lamp was imported into the Act; and also the

important question of the use of the fire-damp indicator, which was a purely scientific

question, and one which ought to be specially worked out by a scientific Institute; but at

present the G-overnment, if they wished for reliable information upon scientific questions

bearing on mining, had not any one body to whom they could refer for information. If they

sought this from any one of the Mining Institutes, there would probably, and naturally, be

a certain jealousy on the part of the others, besides which each district had not exactly

the same peculiarities of condition. The circumstances and requirements of each district

were rather different, and it would hardly do for any one Institute, in any one district,

to take by itself any leading action; but if there was a general body, with whom the

Government might communicate upon scientific subjects, he thought it would be a benefit,

not only to the coal trade at large, but especially to mining engineers, whose character

and responsibilities were so greatly affected by those legislative Acts. There was mention

made by Mr. Jackson of the importance of not interfering with the individuality of each

Institute at present. He thought that seemed to be the unanimous opinion. That was more

needed in Mining Institutes than in any of the engineering Institutes, because many of

those gentlemen referred to who were members of the former could not go up to meetings of a

central body. They could not attend any meetings unless held in their own locality; and it

was of the first importance that those gentlemen should retain their membership. He thought

that it would be the opinion of almost everyone who had considered the subject, that it

would be fatal to in any way interfere with the individuality of the present Institutes. If

each Institute, however, did not join as a body but individually, he did not say that the

scheme could not be worked out, but there would be some difficulty in supplying each member

with a copy of the Transactions if they were published by a central body to which they did

not belong. He would just add that the points which seemed to him to be of chief importance

were—1st, combination for publishing only; 2nd, combination for experimental research; 3rd,

the importance of a united body to whom the Government might apply in case of requiring

reliable information on scientific questions affecting mines, and obtain the opinion of

those who had given time and attention to the study of those subjects as a body, rather

than as individuals.
Mr. Bewick said, in answer to the Chairman, that he did not think he had anything to add to

what had been so well said by others.
170 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
He certainly should very much like to see the project carried out; but he could not but

also see that there were very grave difficulties in the way of it. Probably if a committee

were appointed that day to consider the whole bearings of the case, all those difficulties

might be overcome. It was only as they appeared, perhaps, on the first blush of the thing,

and they might be got over. He must say, taking the scheme as a whole, he was quite in

favour of it. He did not know whether there was anyone there from those who had said " nay"

to the project, such as the Mining Institute of Scotland, or the Cornish Institute, or the

Geological Society of Manchester; if so, perhaps they would express their opinion. They

were the people they would like to hear from.
Mr. Cochrane asked if there was anybody present who had made a calculation of, or had the

slightest idea as to the cost ? Was there any impression on anybody's mind on that

subject—the cost of the federation ?
Mr. Steavenson said his impression was that it would cost £3 3s. each member, and that it

would have a bad effect on local Institutes.
Mr. Daglish thought 10s. a member would be sufficient merely for publishing, and the

present system of publishing cost more than that. Therefore combination for that purpose

would be attended with no extra cost whatever.
Mr. Cochrane—Would they excuse him rising again ? With regard to the question of publishing

which Mr. Daglish had thrown out, which was no doubt true, it seemed to him that

considerable expense would be saved in that direction, and that they should still have

every paper—not merely the chief, but the temporary ones spoken of—which would be a great

advantage, from all their societies. Suppose they became affiliated in a small manner, and

with a secretary there, for the object of being a body that could be referred to, as had

been indicated, each society might guarantee to take from each other society its

Transactions to the full extent of the membership of the society. It seemed to him that

10s. each —there were 2,200 members at that moment—would be sufficient. Those Transactions

could certainly be supplied at 10s. each; that was £1,000 or £1,100. That was simply a

trifle as compared with what was now spent, and that would furnish as many copies as would

be required. He agreed with Mr. Steavenson that something like £3,000 or £4,000 would be

about the cost of the society.
Mr. Daglish—If they established a centre in London ?
Mr. Cochrane—Yes; £3,000 or £4,000 per annum. The other societies being affiliated might

say, for instance, "We will undertake to take 120 copies of Transactions of each one of the

other societies," and
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 171
so on. If they were to do that, the cost of the printing would be much cheapened, one's

productions would be open to everybody, and everybody would have a copy of everybody else's

Proceedings.
Mr. Daglish said that was still making the Mining Institute publish nine- volumes every

year ; whereas the Mechanical Engineers, with all their large numbers of able members, only

published one. It was clear they were all publishing papers that ought not to be published,

at least in such an expensive form.
Mr. Walker said, that with regard to that idea, the difficulty now arising with respect to

printing seemed to be that they had to print at a number of different places. He supposed

that much could be arranged, that one printer should be appointed to print for all the

Institutes, and that the size of the Transactions should at any rate be uniform. Then, in

any case, the whole of the papers that were read before any Institute, and the discussions

upon those papers, would be put into type and printed, but the actual number printed would

depend upon the demand for them. For instance, supposing that a certain person read a paper

before the North of England Institute, and that Institute required a thousand copies for

its own members—he said that simply to take round numbers—a thousand copies at least of

that paper would be printed, with the discussion upon it, to go to all the North of England

members ; but, in addition to that, either the paper might be considered of such general

interest that it might be decided at once that it was worth sending out to all the other

Institutions, or any Institution which desired could have copies of that paper, and the

discussion might be supplied with it on certain terms to be arranged. Then he thought it

would be very well if their Transactions could be sold by a publisher or by the secretary

of the General Institution at a certain price fixed by the council or the author of the

paper. Nothing had been said yet about discussions. Now, he thought it would be a great

pity if they were to confine themselves to the publication of the papers without the

discussions, or at least abbreviated discussions. Sometimes very erroneous ideas were

promulgated in papers, and if such a paper went forth with the imprimatur of the Institute,

it might seem as if they were to some extent giving their sanction to ideas which were

perhaps erroneous, premature, or badly digested. Now, would they just take an illustration

which had been alluded to at that meeting ? They had been having papers at the Midland

Mining Institute on new flameless explosives. The discussions had been, he thought, very

much more valuable than the original papers—at any rate quite equally so. Different

gentlemen have brought before the Midland Insti-
VOL. XXXVII.—1888.

X
172 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
tute the result of their individual trials and their individual experiences under very wide

and different circumstances, and the net result had been a very valuable amount of

information brought together, which certainly would not appear in the original papers.

Then, he thought that the discussions, so far as those discussions appeared to be pertinent

(and the general secretary might strike his pen through anything that was said that did not

appear to be pertinent) should be published in smaller type with the papers. As to Mr.

Daglish's remarks about their not knowing what papers were being read in different

Institutes, he presumed that a general circular would be sent out each month saying what

papers were going to be read before each of the affiliated Institutes, and the question of

time was rather important. There must not be too much delay before they got their papers.

In the Midland Institute they made it a rule to always have papers month by month. Thus

they were received before the meeting, and members went to the meeting prepared to discuss

the papers. If any great amount of delay were to take place before members got their

papers, then the result would be that a very great deal of interest in the subject would be

lost, and perhaps time wasted which it was desirable to save. Then, it was proposed to call

that Institute the Imperial Institute. If it was really meant to be an Imperial Institute,

was there any idea of extending its operations to the Colonies ? Some of them were becoming

more and more interested in mining in other parts of the world, and if it was to be an

Imperial Institute it certainly seemed that if its scope could be extended to Australia and

Canada it might be a great help to those of them who had any dealings with coal-fields in

those parts of the world. For instance, the coal-fields in New South Wales appeared to be

very different in geological structure and conditions from those in this country, and the

publications which had come under his own notice with regard to those matters were very

scanty, so that if their Proceedings could be opened to reliable reports by engineers on

the spot as to the structure of the Colonial coal-fields and so on, it seemed to him that

it might be exceedingly valuable to so extend the scope of the Institution. It would be

rather a mistake to call it " Imperial," unless they intended to embrace in their scope

something more than the four corners of the United Kingdom,
The Chairman said, he believed Mr. Mitchell, the Secretary of the Midland Institute, had

just come into the meeting, and they would be very glad to hear if he had any opinion to

offer upon the subject.
Mr. Mitchell said, he quite agreed with Mr. Cochrane, and he could only endorse his remarks

so far as he was personally concerned.
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 17o
Mr. Smith, with regard to the question of the Colonies, asked if they were not rather

taking it that the whole of the Transactions would have to be published, and the expense

borne by the membership fees of the Central Institution ? That was not the idea of the

paper; because, in addition to the fund derived from the membership fees, he took it that

each federated Institution would have to contribute to the Central Institution for the

publication of the Transactions, and they could well do that if they were spared publishing

their own, because it would be a material saving to them.
Mr. Mills said, he would like to ask whether they could not do something that day to bring

the matter to an issue ? They must have funds. It had been proposed by the late Mr. Bunning

that the fees, in the first instance, should be a call upon the funds of the Institution.

He did not think that would be at all an advisable step. He thought that if they could

raise a little money in the first instance to have a secretary for their committee, they

might afterwards ascertain the extent of support the new Institution was likely to receive.

He had looked into the question of subscription and finance to some extent, and he would

propose that there be several classes of members. In the first instance, there might be the

first class, called " fellows," or anything of that description—that was to say four

guineas; then members at two guineas; non-resident members, such as Mr. Walker proposed, in

the Colonies and different places, one guinea; also associates, who would be the

under-viewers and people who could not attend, under-viewers in the Colonies, and students

as well. He thought if they could come to some idea as to the subscription the Institution

would require, and then ask each one of their own members of their owrn Institutions

whether they would join the Institution at the subscription, it would be a great thing.
Mr. Chambers saw very great difficulty in the suggestion which Mr. Mills had made. He

thought they wanted a scheme first, and thought the proper thing to do would be to appoint

a small committee to draw up one to meet the views of all the gentlemen; then they could

have some idea of what the conditions would be, and what amount of subscription would be

required. He thought that, taking the moderate scheme which Mr. Daglish had sketched out as

a basis, it was quite possible to draw up one which would unite them to a certain extent,

though not to the full extent which the late Mr. Bunning desired, nor to the full extent

which some of them hoped it might develop into by and by; but still he thought a scheme

might be drawn up which would only necessitate a moderate expense, and which would be the

first stage in uniting the Mining Institutes of the country.
174 DISCU8SI0U—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
The Chairman said, Mr. Daglish had placed in his hand a motion, which he would leave him to

bring- forward afterwards. He (the Chairman) reminded them that in the first place they

must prepare a scheme; but not until thej received a preliminary and conditional assent of

every one concerned. They had had the matter now before them, he ventured to say, in a

fairly complete form; they had heard the opinions, with many of which he entirely

agreed—some he was perhaps not inclined to adopt without modifications. Their observations

would all be printed in a condensed form, and they would have an opportunity of considering

the general views of those who had taken a part in that morning's proceedings, which might,

as far as possible, be embodied in some scheme that ought to be drawn out; and it ought to

be drawn out, as had been suggested by two or three of the last speakers, by a small

committee. He thought a copy or copies of that scheme might be sent to the different

Institutes, to ascertain how far they would feel inclined to join in the federation.
Mr. Daglish said, the only feeling in his mind about appointing a committee was, that it

would only result in a scheme emanating from those gentlemen, individually, who formed the

committee, because they had not really any scheme as yet before them, although they were

met there that day as a committee appointed by the several Mining Institutes favourable to

federation for the purpose of presenting some tangible scheme to their respective

Institutes. They had a suggested scheme for a central confederated body for all purposes,

with a special subscription, and another suggested scheme purely confined to publishing,

and these were two entirely different things.
The Chairman said, he left it to the discretion of the committee to propound a scheme

either on the lines spoken of in the one case or on the other as they thought fit.
Mr. Daglish said, if they would allow him, the only object he had in suggesting that a

definite resolution should be proposed was, that it was easier to speak for or against and

to a resolution, rather than to deal broadly with various facts. He was going to suggest a

resolution for discussion which, if agreed to, the delegates present that day could submit

to their councils as something definite.
The Chairman—They would see that if that resolution was carried they rather confined the

committee to draw the scheme upon the lines of that resolution, whereas he wished to leave

them entirely free.
Mr. Daglish said, he did not propose to limit it to that, but simply to commence with that

as something definite.
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES. 175
The Chairman—Supposing the first step were to annul it ?
Mr. Daglish—They could suggest something else.
The Chairman—It would be rather an awkward thing for a committee which had been appointed

by a particular resolution if their first step would be to cancel that resolution.
Mr. Smith said, he thought the Chairman was quite right. They were not as delegates in a

position to pledge their Institutes to any course. As the Chairman has said there was no

actual scheme before them.
The Chairman—No; but he gathered that on the whole they were all favourable to federation.
Mr. Smith—To the principle.
Mr. Cochrane said, he would propose something if they would allow him which, he dared say,

would commend itself to the meeting. It was—"That this meeting recommends that each society

appoint its secretary to form a committee, and that each society bear the expense of its

own secretary, in order to formulate a scheme to submit to a future meeting of this

committee." The object in doing that would be—each secretary would go back again and have

an opportunity of consulting in his own way his own council at the minimum of expense and

at the maximum of convenience to the members, and also with the power of learning in the

best way what his particular Institution wished. Those secretaries ought to meet, and they

were best capable to formulate the matter. Let each society bear its own expenses. He

proposed that the meeting appoint each secretary as a member of a committee to formulate a

scheme, and then, having got their report, they might go back again to their societies

simply with that as a recommendation ; and as to the meeting place, he forgot to suggest

that.
Mr. Marley—Say, the presidents and the secretaries.
Mr. Cochrane—No; he should only ask for the secretaries—it was practically their duty to

formulate the scheme. They could collect the best opinion from their own councils ; and he

proposed that the meeting place be Derby.
Some conversation as to the place of meeting then took place.
Mr. Cochrane—Let that be a subsequent matter. If the idea be that the secretaries should do

that, they being the responsible people for formulating a scheme, and each responsible to

his own council, it met the proposition that far.
Mr. Jackson said, he would be very glad to second the motion, because he thought it was a

very practical way of bringing the matter to a start.
176 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
Mr. Forster Brown said, although he quite agreed with Mr. Cochrane that the

secretaries of the different Institutions were the gentlemen who certainly should be

members of the committee to formulate the scheme, he did not think that it should be

limited to the secretaries of the Institutions, because they might have certain views,

whilst the members of their particular Associations might have different opinions, and he

thought the committee ought to be very much wider, because, after all, it all hinged upon

the report of that committee as to whether the matter was to be carried out, and whether it

was to be carried out on sound lines; therefore, he thought, the first step was to have a

representative committee of all the Institutions who were favourable and who would

promulgate their scheme for the consideration of the committee, and he begged to propose

that.
Mr. Chambers said, he quite agreed with Mr. Forster Brown that the committee consisting of

the secretaries only was not wide enough. He was going to suggest a comparatively limited

committee himself, and was afraid that it would not be as some gentlemen would possibly

desire it, but he thought it would be sufficient for the purpose—namely, two members from

the North of England Institute, and one from each other Institute, in addition to the

secretaries. That would be a small workable committee. If they got a very large committee

the members were liable to leave the work to others 5 then, if they all attended, there

would be a very great difficulty in getting through the business.
Mr. Cochrane said, the expense was an important item. At the present moment nobody was

subscribing any money. He did not want to interfere with the conditions.
Mr. Marley moved that a committee of three or six be appointed by each respective society

to consider the necessary details for carrying the matter out, and then that a general

meeting of the whole be held to formulate the result of what they in their opinion thought

was best to promote a federation. It was, practically, Mr. Forster Brown's suggestion.
The Chairman said, that would make about ten more members than the whole meeting then

present. He asked if Mr. Marley did not think that he was suggesting somewhat too largely ?
Mr. Marley thought he might say one word more, just by way of explanation. In proposing

from three to six in each society, he proposed that each society should then send a

deputation out of that six to meet together ; therefore, practically, it was, say two out

of the number.
Mr. Daglish said, that each society should see that two of its members did attend the

committee meeting.
DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OP MINING INSTITUTES. 177
Mr. Marley—Yes.
Mr. Forster Brown said, he had no objection to that.
Mr. Marley said, each society would appoint its own member.
Mr. Smith said, practically, if Mr. Cochrane's resolution was accepted in the amended form,

appointing other representatives besides the secretary, the societies themselves would do

that. He thought they should leave it to the Institutions themselves. As Mr. Marley

suggested, they would meet and instruct their representatives how to convey their ideas to

the committee. He did not think that from that committee they ought to stipulate that the

several Institutions should appoint committees.
Mr. Cochrane, addressing the President, said the secretaries were the people to

formulate—not in any way to determine. After that they wanted some tangible resolutions.
Mr. Daglish—They must have a meeting.
Mr. Marley—They must have a meeting.
Mr. Cochrane—Of the secretaries ?
Mr. Daglish said they thought there should be some other members present as well as the

secretaries.
Mr. Cochrane—Yes, at each council. What he proposed was— that that meeting should recommend

each society to appoint its secretary, then those secretaries would be instructed by the

council of each society fully. Then they would meet, they would formulate a scheme in

writing —resolved this, that, and all the rest of it. He might say it was peculiarly their

province to do that.
Mr. Daglish—The only further condition was, that in addition to the secretaries there

should be one or two members of the council.
Mr. Cochrane said, he did not object to it, except on the ground that they were putting

each society to very much more expense than what was necessary. In the one case they simply

sent the secretaries to that meeting, and in the other case also they would not get the

attendance of those members at the meetings, whereas the secretary's official position was

such that he could always go to those meetings, and the members they might appoint might

not be capable of doing so.
Mr. Daglish said, he thought Mr. Maiiey and the Chairman had put that right. It was

proposed that each society should see that two of their members attended by arrangement.
Mr. Marley said, he thought they were all pretty well agreed.
Mr. Haines—What was proposed had been really done, and they had it before them. The

representation had already been done. It was not only the representatives, but what they

might or might not do.
178 DISCUSSION—FEDERATION OF MINING INSTITUTES.
The Chairman asked if he meant in point of numbers ?
Mr. Haines—Yes; he thought they had provisionally three names from each Institute before

them.
The Chairman said, it did not follow that those gentlemen would continue their attendance.

They could see that what they wanted was to have the sanction of that meeting.
Mr. Haines said, he was merely speaking of their Institute; their representation was

prospective rather, he should say.
Mr. Walker said, it would be necessary for each council to have their secretary, he

thought, so that on each point that might arise they could discuss such questions amongst

themselves as there might be a little doubt about.
Mr. Forster Brown—Simply two representatives.
Mr. Marley—Neither name nor office.
The Chairman asked Mr. Cochrane if his motion was that the secretaries be appointed ?
Mr. Cochrane—Yes; and the secretaries should be empowered to prepare the draft.
The Chairman said, the motion before the meeting was that by Mr. Cochrane, namely, that the

secretaries be appointed in order to form a committee to draw up a scheme. To that an

amendment had been moved that each Institute send two of its members, neither of the two

being of necessity the secretary, to attend the meeting in order to draw up a scheme; and,

as usual upon such occasions, he would put the amendment first.
The amendment was then put to the meeting, when 10 voted for it and 3 against it, and the

Chairman declared the amendment carried.
The Chairman said, that seemed to him to complete the business; and he thought, before they

left the room, they ought to allow him to convey the thanks of the meeting to the

Institution of Civil Engineers for the use of their room.
After further conversation as to the proposed place of meeting,
Professor Benton begged to move, as a representative of South Staffordshire, that Sheffield

be the place of meeting.
Mr. Marley seconded that.
The Chairman said, the motion was that Sheffield be the place of meeting.
The resolution was put to the meeting, and carried unanimously.
Mr. Daglish—As Sir Lowthian Bell had been kind enough to act as Chairman on that occasion,

should they ask him to be so good as to convene the meeting ?
discussion—federation of mixing institutes. 179
The Chairman said, he should be very glad to do that, if they wished it.
Mr. Daglish said he would propose that.
Mr. Forster Brown said he would second it.
The resolution was put to the meeting by Mr. Daglish, and carried unanimously.
Mr. Forster Brown begged to propose a vote of thanks to the Chairman for fulfilling the

duties of the chair.
The resolution was put to the meeting, and carried unanimously.
The Chairman said, he had had very much pleasure in occupying the post that had been

assigned to him.
Mr. Daglish said, he thought it should be known that the Chairman had come up specially

that day from his place in Yorkshire to attend that meeting.
DISCUSSION—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS. 181
JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS,

MIDLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING, CIVIL, AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, AND THE SOUTH WALES INSTITUTE

OF ENGINEERS "ON MECHANICAL VENTILATORS, 1888."
MEETING HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, 25, GREAT GEORGE

STREET, WESTMINSTER, WEDNESDAY, 6th JUNE, 1888.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson proposed that Mr. Daglish take the chair.
Mr. W. Cochrane seconded the proposition.
The resolution was put and carried.
The Chairman said, they all knew why they had met, and he did not think he need make any

preliminary remarks. Mr. Walton Brown had been in communication with the secretaries of the

Midland and South Wales Institutes, and he would commence the proceedings by asking Mr.

Brown to state exactly the position in which they stood just now.
Mr. M. Walton Brown said, he had corresponded, on behalf of the North of England Institute,

with the secretaries of the Midland and South Wales Institutes, and the preliminary details

were all thoroughly understood and arranged on behalf of the three co-operating Institutes.

As to the expense of carrying on the experiments, each of the three co-operating Institutes

had agreed to subscribe not more than £100, and it was agreed that the Report, when

completed, should be the joint property of the three Institutes. Three engineers would be

appointed, one by each Institute.
Mr. Hort Huxham—That is right.
The Chairman—How many engineers is that then ?
Mr. M. Walton Brown said, three experimenting engineers would be required. Each of the

three Institutes would appoint one, and each pay the expenses of their respective engineer;

that would be the simplest way of proportioning the cost.
182 DISCUSSION—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
M
Mr. Thos. Evens asked if it was understood that each engineer
would be paid for his time, as well as his hotel and travelling expenses,
or were they supposed to give their services ?
The Chairman said, so far as the North of England Institute was concerned, up to the

present time they had never paid anyone. They had always been able to obtain the services

of suitable gentlemen who were good enough and able enough to undertake the duties; but it

was possible they might not be able to do so, and he thought that it was left to each

Institute to do as it liked; each paying their own engineer.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Not out of the £100 or £300 ?
The Chairman—No ; I think not.
Mr. Hort Huxham—That is just the point. We are a little doubtful about it.
Mr. Chambers said, he understood the Institutes joining in these experiments were three—the

North of England, the Midland, and the South Wales, and no others.
Mr. M. Walton Brown—Yes; no others have been asked.
The Chairman asked if there was any scheme formulated ?
Mr. M. Walton Brown said, he had drawn up a programme of observations to be made, and

instructions to the engineers, which had been sent to the committees of the co-operating

Institutes.
The Chairman asked Mr. Brown if he proposed that they should go through the programme

seriatim ?
Mr. M. Walton Brown said, he would suggest that it should be gone through seriatim, and

ascertain whether they approved of it or not. He would read it through.
The Chairman asked if it was the general wish of the gentlemen present that they went

through the programme seriatim ?
Mr. G. B. Walker asked if the general principles were agreed to as to what should guide the

investigation ? These were instructions, as he took it, to the engineers. The Midland

Institute had been under the impression that they intended, in these experiments, to

confine themselves very much to two things—first, to places where there were two

ventilators of different descriptions working on the same mine, so that their results could

be very accurately compared; and, second, to fans, which had not hitherto been dealt with.

They felt that the experiments which had previously been published (for instance, those

which the North of England Institute published some four or five years ago) were not quite

final, and that it was very desirable to take into account all the ventilators which were

now in successful operation, and that a sufficient number of
discussion—mechanical ventilators. 183
each type should be experimented upon, in order to arrive at some reliable data as to their

general characteristics, effects, and advantages. The Midland Institute thought that the

conditions of the mines where these ventilators were at work should be clearly stated, as

there were many sources of error, which have probably crept into former experiments through

sufficient information not having been given when the results were published, in order to

enable any one to decide what were the conditions under which the fans were worked, and

under which the results were obtained. The idea of the Midland Institute was, therefore, to

rather extend the scope of the investigation beyond what he understood was the idea of the

North of England Institute.
The Chairman said, would not the three great fans be the basis of the tests—the Schiele,

the Waddel, and the Guibal ? Did not that cover nearly the whole ground of previous

experiments? They would not require to test another Schiele, and another Waddel, or another

Guibal in any way, because they would have tried these in the first sets of the experiments

they made.
Mr. Walker—Take for instance the Waddel at Celynen. He understood (he said it with all due

reserve) that it was by far the best Waddel that had ever been erected. The results of that

particular Waddel were the only ones which were given in the report of the North of England

experiments.
The Chairman—Yes; but you see the Waddel will now be tested as against another fan, under

exactly the same circumstances.
Mr. Walker said, there was a second set of considerations—that was durability. A fan which,

after five or six years' wear, was considerably shaken, was not so valuable a fan as one

which had run for a very much longer period without any perceptible deterioration.
The Chairman asked if Mr. Walker proposed at present to move a resolution to extend this,

or would he bring it forward afterwards as the work went on ?
Mr. Walker said, he simply made those remarks because he thought they were going on to

instructions to experimenters before they finally decided what the scope of the

investigation was to be.
The Chairman said, Mr. Walker had mentioned that the scope of the enquiry included two

things : that was to say, the fans of different kinds upon the same mine, and the new fans

that had never been tested. Did he propose to add a third to that, namely, to go over some

of the other fans ?
Mr. Walker—That was the idea of the Council of the Midland Institute.
184 DISCUSSION—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
The Chairman—Are we not then going into a very large question, and possibly a question that

will give rise to some degree of dispute and squabbling if we are going to test individual

fans again ?
Mr. Walker said, he simply mentioned it because they had already appointed a Committee to

experiment with a certain number of fans in the South Yorkshire district, and they

suspended those experiments in consequence of the invitation received from the North of

England Institute to co-operate with them, but, at the time they agreed to cooperate, it

was very clearly mentioned by his Council that the enquiry ought not to be of too

restricted a character. They thought that there were not before the world as yet any

reliable statistics respecting the principal types of fans.
The Chairman asked if he (Mr. Walker) did not think that they, or rather most of them, had

come to the conclusion that they could not place much confidence in those isolated

experiments on account of the very fact of the circumstances differing so much ; and unless

they could get different fans under exactly the same circumstances, that really these '

experiments were of no value ? He only mentioned that; he did not wish to put a stop to the

investigation any further than it might be their wish. Perhaps Mr. Walker would test it

by moving a resolution at once.
Mr. Walker said he would rather do so, if there was time, after a little more expression of

opinion. If they liked he would move the general resolution, " That the object of the

investigation be to ascertain as thoroughly as possible the relative efficiency and value

of the various kinds of fans now in operation." That was a somewhat comprehensive

resolution.
The Chairman—Yes; that would carry it, certainly. Would any gentleman second that

resolution ?
Mr. Armstrong, Jun., seconded it.
The Chairman—It being understood that at present the investigation is limited to two

different fans on the same pit, and to fans that have not hitherto been experimented upon.

It is now proposed to extend this investigation further. Those who are in favour of that,

please signify the same by holding up their hands.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Before putting that resolution, he should like to ask what the words "

experimented upon " refer to ?
The Chairman—Published, I suppose.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Published you mean ?
The Chairman—Yes.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Published in the Transactions of any particular Institute, or not ?
DISCUSSION—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS. 185
The Chairman—The resolution covers everything. It is as wide as possible. There is no

limit to it.
Mr. Hort Huxham said, what was passing in his mind was simply this, he apprehended every

fan had been more or less experimented upon.
The Chairman—No; every system of fan, not every fan.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Every system of fan ; and those experiments had been more or less

published.
Mr. Armstrong, Jun.—"Recorded" would be perhaps a better word.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Recorded in some particular Proceedings or Transactions ?
Mr. Armstrong, Jun.—Yes; in the Transactions. That is better than " published."
Mr. Walker—The inference is, that the three Institutes combining to make these experiments

would probably publish the results.
Mr. Forster Brown—They would be the joint property of the three.
Mr. Armstrong—Recorded in the Transactions of the three Institutes.
Mr. Hort Huxham—Quite so.
Mr. Forster Brown said, he was going to suggest this : Would they not obtain all the

practical objects they sought by testing different fans, where there are duplicates on

particular pits ? By that they would get definite results as regarded those particular

fans. But inasmuch as those particular fans probably comprised the principal fans which had

otherwise been experimented upon, they would obtain all the objects required without going

into an unlimited enquiry.
The Chairman said, probably, like every other gentleman present, he had made a number of

experiments, and he found that the conditions were so utterly different that they could not

compare two fans on different pits. They had engines underground with steam only; they had

engines underground with a boiler. They could not tell how much of the ventilation was due

to these actions; therefore, to take an experiment with a fan upon a pit was no indication

of its relative value as compared with another fan on another pit.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, his impression of the origin of this Committee was that it was

merely to test the fans where there were two fans of different descriptions on the same

shaft, to satisfy the want that had been felt by mining engineers, and to prove whether two

fans, worked under exactly the same conditions, gave different results. For his part, by a

mere calculation alone, he thought they had satisfactorily solved the question; but then it

would be much more satisfactory if different kinds of fans were tested on the same pit.

He rather thought that they should
186 DISCUSSION -MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
first give attention to that point. If they began to test different kinds of fans they

would get into a very extended range of examination, for there were a large number now of

different kinds; but that should be considered before they started. He should like to

suggest before they went to any very great extension of their work, they should decide as

to how the cost was to be divided.
The Chairman—That was arranged not to exceed £100 for each Institute.
Mr. Chambers said, he could not help thinking that Mr. Walker was leading them a little

further than even the Midland Institute intended to go by his comprehensive resolution; and

he was bound to say, after hearing what other gentlemen had said, that he thought it would

be almost better for the Committee at present to confine itself to the scheme which the

North of England Institute proposed. He should like also to suggest that they should make

some experiments with the original fan, now forty or fifty years old—that was, the Biram

fan; the first fan, he believed, put up in the country, and which had been running from the

day it was put up to the present day. It would be very interesting to know what that fan

was doing. He thought they could get permission to have it tested.
Mr. Cochrane—They would find the whole of the experiments upon the Elsecar fan in the

Transactions of the North of England Mining Institute, made by the late Mr. J. J. Atkinson

and himself, before they adopted the G-uibal type of fan.
Mr. Chambers said, he was not aware of it; therefore he withdrew his suggestion.
The Chairman asked Mr. Walker if it would meet with his views to let this matter rest for

the present ? If the Committee had energy left, after they had finished the objects for

which they were started------
Mr. Cochrane—And money.
The Chairman—And money; or can get more. He quite agreed with him it would be very

advisable not to let it drop. It would be a pity; but he thought they should limit

themselves to the very large undertaking they had in front of them at present, otherwise

they would never get to the report stage.
Mr. Walker said, he should like to add some limited proposal to the effect that the

Committee might experiment with fans which present certain novel features in their

adaptation. Mr. Garforth, of the West Eiding Colliery, had a Schiele fan at the top of a

very small shaft, whose friction would be entirely abnormal, and the results of that fan

should be very instructive.
discussion—mechanical ventilators. 187
The Chairman—Yes.
Mr. Walker—And if any fan was, in the opinion of the Committee, so placed that it presented

new features, he thought it would be a pity to neglect to get the particulars of the

working of such a fan.
The Chairman—You will move no resolution then ?
Mr. Walker—No.
Mr. Garforth said, as the money that was voted was very limited, he thought it would be

better to go step by step, and take it in two stages—first, the fans in duplicate at each

pit, and make that the scope of the Committee's investigation at first; then, if the money

ran to it, they might go into the other. The same Committee would continue the experiments.
The Chairman asked if Mr. Garforth would kindly move that resolution, and state, as the

expression of the opinion of the meeting, that the Committee should report as soon as they

had completed the experiments of the duplicate fans ?
Mr. Garforth said, he should be very happy to do so.
Mr. Cochrane—With the present money?
Mr. Garforth said, he should be very happy to move " That the operations of the Committee

be confined to those cases where two fans of different constructions were erected on the

same mine, but the Joint Committee at the same time express their hope that they will be

able to extend their operations to newly invented fans after this series of experiments are

completed."
The resolution was put from the chair and carried.
Mr. M. Walton Brown then put in a schedule of observations to be made, and instructions to

the engineers, which, after discussion and amendment, were adopted by the meeting. (See

Appendix p. 189.)
The Chairman said, in their case they had appointed Mr. M. Walton Brown, and the Joint

Committee had asked Mr. Brown to act throughout as General Secretary also. Who would he

communicate with on behalf of the other Institutes ?
Mr. M. Walton Brown said he had communicated with Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Huxham.
The Chairman—Quite right; so long as that was understood.
Mr. Hort Huxham asked if it was understood that the Secretaries should accompany the

experimental engineers ?
The Chairman—Not unless they like ; but it was expected that some of the Committee would be

present always at these experiments.
Mr. Thos. Evens—I think so.
z
VOL. XXXVII.—1888.
188 DISCUSSION—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
The Chairman hoped that they would be present, both to assist and to see that the thing was

carried out properly.
Mr. M. Walton Brown—Three engineers were to be appointed, one from each Institute.
The Chairman asked if it was the pleasure of that meeting that each Institute appoint one

engineer ?
Mr. GrARFORTH—Yes.
The Chairman said, the next thing was where were the experiments to be made ?
Mr. Hort Huxham—Is it left to the engineers to decide where they commence their experiments

first ?
Mr. M. Walton Brown asked if that could not be done by correspondence, so as to avoid any

further meetings of the Joint Committee until the experiments were completed ?
Mr. Cochrane—The Secretaries could prepare lists of fans proposed to be tried in each

district for approval by each Committee.
The Chairman—Yes; there was no need to call a meeting for that purpose.
Mr. Cochrane—No; it would be entirely done by correspondence.
The Chairman—Yes; so that each Institute might agree.
Mr. Garforth moved that the best thanks of the meeting be given to Mr. Daglish for his

kindness in presiding there that day.
Mr. Thos. Evens had much pleasure in seconding that.
The resolution having been put and carried,
The Chairman said he was much obliged to them. He thought they had done a very good day's

work.
Mr. Steavenson moved a vote of thanks to the Institution of Civil Engineers for granting

them the privilege of meeting in their rooms.
The resolution was unanimously carried and the meeting separated.
appendix—mechanical ventilators. 189
APPENDIX.
OBSERVATIONS TO BE MADE, AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THE
ENGINEERS.
Six separate experiments shall be made upon each ventilator, in which the friction of the

mine is varied, as follows :—
(a) The return to the ventilator closed.
(&) The return to the ventilator closed, with the exception of an
opening of 3 square feet. ( c) The opening doubled in area.
(d) The mine under ordinary working conditions, with all machinery
at rest (hauling, winding engines, etc.).
(e) The entrance of air facilitated by opening some doors. (/) Air admitted as freely as

possible from the atmosphere.
In each trial the six experiments shall be made in the above-named order, and as nearly as

possible at the normal speed of periphery, subject of course to the ability of the engines

to drive the fans at the required speed when passing large volumes of air.
Two more experiments shall also be made with the mine under ordinary conditions, and the

fan running at higher and lower speeds.
The normal speed of periphery shall be taken at 6,000 feet per minute.
In each experiment observations shall be made of—
(a) The number of revolutions per minute of the fan and engines.
(b) The volume of air. (e) The water gauge.
(d) The indicated horse-power.
(e) The height of barometer. (/) The temperature.
NOTES.
(a) The revolutions of the fan and engines shall be counted by an ordinary engine counter,

and, if possible, two independent observers shall undertake this duty.
190 APPENDIX—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
(b) The Volume of Air.—A Casella air meter or Biram's anemometer shall be employed,

provided with some simple form of stopping and starting gear, say, started by the tension

of a string and stopped by the reaction of a spring; that is to say, the revolutions would

be recorded so long as the string was pulled tight.
The measurements shall be made at the same point in (1) the return air-way and in proximity

to the inlet of the fan, and also at (2) the inlet (or inlets) and in (3) the shaft.
If possible a length of arching shall be taken, and the place of measurement must be of

some regular geometrical form.
If all parts are not accessible to the observer, the place of measurement must be reduced

in size by a rectangular wood frame or doorway.
The area of the place of measurement must be divided into 16 equal areas, and a reading of

the anemometer taken in each at its centre of gravity. The division shall be made by means

of horizontal and vertical strings, thus—
The anemometer shall be held for 30 seconds in each position, without intervals between the

readings. Two observers shall attend to this, one to handle the anemometer (standing at one

side) and the other to observe the seconds' watch and book the results.
When the resistance of the mine is varied, the position of the fan shutter, or other

appliance for modifying the useful effect of the fan, shall be tested, if practicable, to

ascertain the position which yields the highest water gauge at the normal speed.
The anemometers shall be tested at intervals with the same efficient machine.
APPENDIX—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS. 191
(c) The water gauge readings shall be made at the centre of the
drift (where the air is measured) with the end of the tube
pointing to the fan, and at the same time as the anemometer
readings. Simultaneous readings must also be taken at the centre of the inlet
to the fan. The end of the tube shall be protected by a flannel cap from the
effects of velocity. The readings shall be made every 30 seconds. The water gauge used in

the experiments shall be of the ordinary
form. Distilled water shall be used in the water gauge. Flexible rubber tubing will be

required to connect the instruments
with the points of observation.
(d) The indicated horse-power shall be obtained by means of a
Eichard's indicator, made by Negretti & Zambra, and costing about £7 10s. Both ends of the

cylinders shall be connected thus, with a three-way
cock at the point of union, and above which the indicator
shall be placed. If there are a pair of cylinders, two indicators shall be simultaneously
employed. By this means both cylinders and both ends of
each cylinder will be indicated almost simultaneously. Three sets of diagrams shall be

taken during each experiment, at the
beginning, middle, and end. Experiments shall also be made to determine the friction of the

engine
without any air passing through the fan, or by detaching the
fan from the engine where possible.
192 APPENDIX—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS.
The indicators shall be tested by weights in the ordinary manner.
(e) and (/) The readings of the barometer and thermometer in the open air, and that of the

thermometer alone in the drift, shall be registered. The hygrometric conditions of the

inner and outer airs shall also be recorded.
Generally, all the experiments shall be made under similar conditions either when pits are

idle or otherwise. All time observations shall be made with a centre-second watch, costing

about 13s. 6d.
Additional information shall be obtained as under:—
(1) Depth and diameter of downcast and upcast shaft.
(2) Obstructions (if any) in shafts, with sketches.
(3) Distance apart of the shafts, with working sketch of seams.
(4) Difference in surface level of shafts.
(5) Temperature at tops of upcast and downcast shafts. Temperature at middle of do.

do. Temperature at bottom of do. do.
If boilers, etc., are in use underground, the temperatures should also be observed (where

possible) at the point where the smoke is delivered into upcast, with sketch and dimensions

of the smoke drift and volume of air passing through it.
(6) Dimensions of fan, distance from pit, and dimensions of fan drift
(with plans).
(7) Dimensions of engines.
(8) A record of the steam pressure at the time of taking the indicator
diagrams.
(9) A record of the water gauge at the bottom of the pit, where
possible.
(10) The date of erection of the fan and engines.
(11) The original or estimated cost (and date) of fen, engine, boilers,
building, etc.
(12) The cost of maintenance, being the actual cost of stores and
repairs of fans and engines.
(13) Particulars of all accidents, and duration of stoppages of fan since
erection.
APPENDIX—MECHANICAL VENTILATORS. 193
Instruments required:—
2 water gauges.
100 feet india-rubber tubing with wire core.
2 flannel caps for tubing.
2 thermometers, wet and dry bulb.
3 anemometers.
2 Richard's indicators.
1 set of reducing gear.
2 Bourdon steam gauges, 60 and 150 lbs. 2 centre split-second watches.
1 aneroid barometer.
2 Harding's counters. 2 three-way cocks.
Tool chest, ratchet brace and 4 drills, screw spanner, pipe tongs, pincers, pipe cutter,

callipers, stock, dies, taps and key, oil tin, short lengths of steam pipe of various

diameters.
PROCEEDINGS. 195
PROCEEDINGS.
GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, JUNE 9th, 1888, IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL HALL, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
Sir LOWTHIAN BELL, Babt., President, in the Chaib.
The Secretary read the minutes of the last meeting.
The Secretary reported the proceedings of the Council; and said it had been arranged for

the Summer Meeting in Scotland to take place, if possible, on Tuesday, July 24th; notice

would be sent to all members as soon as the arrangements were completed. The Federation

Meeting took place in London on Wednesday, and was fully attended, not only by members of

their own Committee and Council, but also by representative members from the various Mining

Institutes in the country; and the Committee on "Fan Ventilation" was also largely attended

at the same place and on the same day. Both meetings might be regarded as quite successful.
The Secretary read the balloting list, as settled by the Councils to be sent out to the

members.
The following members were elected:—
Associate Members—
Mr. William Rich, Minas de Rio Tinto, Provincia de Huelva, Spain. Mr. William G. Wears,

Mining Engineer, 28 and 29, St. Swithin's Lane, London, E.C.
Mr. M. Walton Brown read the following Report:—
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

A ¦*¦
REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 197
EEPOET OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO ENQUIEE INTO THE EXPLOSION OF AN AIE EEOEIVEE AT

EYHOPE COLLIEEY,
AND CONSISTING OF
Mb. W. F. Hail, Peofessoe Bedson, Messes. J. Daglish, J. T. Dunn,
G. B. Foesxee, H. Lawbence, W. Lishman, L. Wood,
and M. Walton Beown (Secretary).
Deawn up BY M. Walton Beown, with an Appendix by Pbofessoe Bedson.
GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS.
The compressing engines and No. 1 air receiver are situated (Plate XLII.) on the surface.

The two steam cylinders are 32 inches, and the two air compressing cylinders are 38 inches

diameter, and 5 feet stroke. The air compressing cylinders have water jackets; the water

being admitted at the sides, and, passing upwards, escapes by an overflow pipe. It is

supplied from a small reservoir, which furnishes a flow of water through the jacket. The

ends are also water jacketed in the same way as the sides of the cylinders, the water being

admitted on the lower side, and rises to the top, where it overflows. There are two inlet

and one outlet valves, 8 inches diameter, at each end of the air cylinders.
The lubrication of the air cylinders was at first effected by screw inlet valves 1^ inches

diameter at each end, connected by pipes with the bottom of the receiver, whence sufficient

of the lubricant was drawn in at each stroke to lubricate the piston, valves, etc., any

excess being returned to the receiver along with the air. The lubricant used at that

time was—
Soft soap ............... 2 pounds.
Colza oil ............... i gallon.
Water ............... i „
This means of lubricating was discarded during the year 1881, when about one gallon of

fluid was poured into the suction valves of the two cylinders every two hours, consisting

of—
Soft soap ............... 2 pounds.
Mineral oil............... i gallon.
Water ... ........ ... } „
198 REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
The compressed air is delivered by the engine into pipes 10 inches diameter (formerly 8

inches), through which it passes into the No. 1 air receiver (Plate XLL), consisting of an

egg-ended boiler 6 feet in diameter and 29 feet long (the contents being about 770 cubic

feet), and built of | inch iron plates arranged in rings with hemispherical ends. There

were two safety-valves, each 4 inches diameter, and loaded to 50 lbs. per square inch. The

two delivery pipes passed into the top of the No. 1 air receiver, and thence one cast iron

delivery pipe 10 inches diameter led the air to the top of the shaft.
The air is taken down the shaft, a distance of about 250 fathoms, by means of malleable

iron pipes 9 inches internal diameter, f inch thick, in 12 feet lengths. The flanges are f

inch thick, welded on and fastened together by eight f inch bolts. They have plain joints

made with cement and packing. There is a stand pipe, provided with stuffing box to act as

an expansion joint, placed in the shaft at 127 fathoms from the surface.
The pipe from the shaft is connected with the No. 2 air receiver, which is placed near the

bottom of the shaft; it is 4 feet diameter by 12 feet long, and made of | inch iron plate

The air is taken (Plate XLII. Fig. 2) from No. 2 receiver in metal pipes, decreasing from 8

inches to 6 inches diameter, to three hauling engines placed at various distances from the

shaft. These hauling engines have each two cylinders 14 inches diameter and 18 inches

stroke. They are situated at 660 yards, 990 yards, and 1,950 yards from the receiver at the

bottom of the shaft. They run about 120 revolutions per minute, the air being cut off at

three-quarter stroke.
THE EXPLOSION.
The engineman at the air compressor said that the three air engines had all been running,

two were stopped, and he had just finished oiling the air compressing engines. He had

lubricated the air cylinders, and when near the door of the house he was knocked down by

the violence of an explosion. The third engine was easing up when this explosion occurred,

at 10*40 p.m. on March 1st, 1883.
The pressure of air which he had observed when lubricating the air cylinders was 57 lbs.

per square inch. The compressing engine had been running at twenty-three or twenty-four

revolutions per minute, and had slowed down, when the two underground engines stopped, and

the air was blowing off at the receiver. He further stated that he was rendered

unconscious, having been struck on the head with some flying debris. As
REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 199
soon as he recovered (he could not say how long he had been unconscious) he found the

engine racing away, and stopped it. He then observed a fierce fire burning, in the No. 1

air receiver, like a furnace, owing to the blast of air playing upon it.
The evidence of other persons showed that the explosion of the No. 1 air receiver was

accompanied with bright flames from 20 to 30 feet high, which immediately subsided, leaving

a fierce fire burning brightly within the receiver.
Other persons arrived on the site of the explosion within ten minutes of the occurrence,

and means were at once adopted for the extinction of the fire, which was easily

accomplished by the aid of water.
The engines usually make from twenty-three or twenty-four revolutions per minute; and as

the air engines are stopped the speed slackens —steam of 35 lbs. per square inch not being

sufficient to overcome a pressure of more than 58 lbs. in the No. 1 air receiver.
The No. 1 air receiver is arranged so that the air blows off at 50 lbs.; but should none of

the air engines be running, the pressure actually rises to 58 lbs., and the speed of the

engine is reduced to fifteen or sixteen revolutions. At this speed the air blows off at the

valves as quickly as it is pumped into the air receiver.
None of the attached thermometers were in use at the time of the explosion. They are stated

to have usually indicated about 180° F., although it was said that the temperature of the

air occasionally rose as high as 230° F. The second engineman said the temperature -of the

air had been as high as 300° F.
The water was up in the jacket, and the engineman had seen that there was water in the

cistern. Both the cylinders were as bright as glass, and, as well as the valves, showed no

signs of over-heating. The packing of the piston was not singed, nor did it show signs of

abnormal heating.
THE DEPOSIT.
The pipes leading from the air cylinders to the No. 1 air receiver used to be cleaned every

three or four months when the old lubricant was used in the air cylinders, but with the use

of the new lubricant the deposit had not taken place so rapidly.
On one occasion, when the pipes from the air cylinders were 8 inches diameter, they were

found almost completely closed, there not being room to push in the hand. (See Fig. 1,

Plate XLVI.)
This led to 10 inch pipes being put in instead of the smaller ones.
200 REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
The new lubricant had been used for about twelve months before the explosion, during which

time the pipes had not been cleaned. They were taken off after the accident and examined,

when the deposit was found not to exceed 1| inches in thickness, laying on the lower side,

and thinning out towards the vertical edges. (Fig. 2, Plate XLYI.)
The deposit has been found in the gauge pipe which is attached to these pipes, and the

gauge, on more than one occasion, when taken off was found to be choked up. The gauge which

was in use at the time of the accident was examined, and the pipe was found to be coated

internally with a slight deposit about TV inch thick.
The deposit extended into the No. 1 air receiver, where it was found all over the bottom ;

on the last occasion when the No. 1 air receiver was cleaned out, the deposit was found to

be 9 inches thick at the bottom, thinning out towards the vertical sides.
The use of the new lubricant was introduced after this cleaning, and at the time of the

explosion, judging from the remains then found, it is considered that the deposit may have

been 2 inches thick.
The deposit extended down the pipes into the pit, and was found in No. 2 and No. 3 air

receivers; but it was not so abundant as in the pipes and air receiver at bank, and was of

a different nature, being somewhat oily, and of a rusty red colour.
The deposit found in the pipes and the No. 1 air receiver was evidently a mixture of

coal-dust and the lubricant carried over from the air cylinders. It may therefore be said

to consist of coal-dust, mineral oil, soft soap, and water.
DAMAGES.
The receiver (Plates XLIIL, XLIY., and XLV.) was found blown into four pieces, nearly

detached from each other, a cylindrical rip passed through one inlet and the outlet pipe,

and almost completely round the boiler; another rip extended along the top of the boiler,

through the man-hole doors, safety-valve seats, and other old holes, as far as the

spherical end. This end was almost blown off, and received two distinct fractures, which

laid it flat out.
There is abundant evidence to show that after the explosion the receiver was, in part, at a

white heat. This tends to prove that some heat must have accumulated in the plates previous

to its bursting. The plates themselves clearly evidence the fact of their having been very

hot; the heating was, however, local, and appears to have been greatest at the side next

the pit, below the point where the air entered, and thence
REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 201
extended along the side of the unfractured end. The fractured end of the receiver did not

appear to have been subjected to any great temperature. The metal pipes leading to the

pit were not damaged.
Two of the cast iron pillars, forming a portion of the supports of the heapstead, were

broken in several places, and the pieces thrown to some distance. A cabin upon the

heapstead was considerably damaged, and the windows of houses in the neighbourhood were

more or less shaken. A pulley wheel standing near had the rim broken, and four spokes were

bent by the side of the boiler being blown forcibly against it. (See Fig. 3, Plate

XLYI.)
The air pipes are placed in the pit, which is bratticed, one side being-used as an upcast,

the other side was intended to be a downcast, but the transmission of heat is so great that

it is simply used as a dumb pit. The brattice is built of bricks set with cement, upon iron

girders or buntons. These girders are formed of two side plates 6 inches deep and % inch

thick, and 19| feet long, bolted together, and studded at intervals, as shown in Fig. 5,

Plate XLVI.
The slide buntons and slides are attached at one end to the buntons carrying the brattice.
Serious damage occurred in the shaft. At 127 fathoms one segment of the cast iron tubbing

was found blown about ^ an inch outwards from the pit, and showed the sheeting ; a stuffing

joint and stand pipe were also found damaged. At a depth of 180 fathoms several pipes were

partially split open. From 200 to 212 fathoms the pipes, brick brattice, side buntons,

etc., had all fallen down the pit. At 215 fathoms a piece was blown out the side of one of

the pipes. (See Fig. 6, Plate XLYI.) From 220 to 231 fathoms about 11 fathoms of brick

brattice were damaged, and the buntons and brick brattice blown into the upcast side of the

pit. (See Fig. 4, Plate XLYI.) One of the pipes at 225 fath ms was burst open into an

almost flat sheet of iron. (See Fig. 7, Plate XLYI.)
The air receiver, pipes, guides, etc., at a depth of about 250 fathoms were displaced, and

had fallen to the bottom of the pit; there was no brattice at this point, and the pipes

were found damaged 30 yards inbye. One of the workmen at the bottom of the shaft saw a

flash of flame in the shaft at the time of the explosion, and was thrown about 20 yards. A

tub which he was pushing was overturned and thrown about 15*yards. The effects of the

explosion were felt at considerable distancesSfrom the shafts; thus an air crossing was

"lifted" about 1,000 yards 'from the shaft, and waste doors were "moved " at a distance of

3,500 yards inbye.
202 REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
There was a great similarity in the bends and fractures of the buntons carrying the

brattice at the two points where the damage was most serious. The fracturing forces appear

to have acted at about the same point upon all the beams, with the difference that some

were only bent at the points where others were broken, as shewn by the * * * in Fig. 4, and

by the arrows in Fig. 5, Plate XLVI.
PEOBABLE CAUSES OP THE EXPLOSION.
It appears improbable for the No. 1 air receiver to have been exploded by the normal

pressure of the air, as the engine would have stopped before the pressure became too high,

in addition to which a pressure of about 220 lbs. per square inch would have been required

to burst the air receiver, and to burst the air pipes a very much greater pressure would

have been necessary.
The bursting of the No. 1 air receiver must, therefore, have been produced by the explosion

of some substance inside. The temperature in the No. 1 air receiver must have been somewhat

high, and must have heated the plates to a high temperature before the explosion, otherwise

they could not have been raised to a white heat in the short time that the fire was allowed

to burn after the explosion.
The bursting of the air pipes in the shaft and the damage done in the shaft itself appear

to show that an explosion occurred in them, and that it took place subsequent to the

explosion which (it is supposed) took place in the No. 1 air receiver. This opinion is

supported by the fact that the metal pipes near the receiver leading into the engine-house

and to the pit were unbroken. If an explosion had only occurred in the air receiver, it is

very improbable that the bursting of the pipes in the shaft, and the serious damage in the

shaft itself, could have resulted from the compressive wave or " momentum " given to the

air in the pipes by an explosion in the No. 1 air receiver. It would not explain the

considerable effects found for some distance inbye, where the pipes themselves were not

damaged.
This second explosion would probably ensue from the explosive gases, generated in the air

receiver and passed to a certain distance down the pipes in the shaft, being ignited by a

flame produced by the explosion in the air receiver.
It is possible that the flashing point of the mineral oil, forming part of the lubricant

used in the air compressing cylinders, might have been lower than the temperature of the

compressed air, in which case the receiver might have been charged with an explosive

mixture of air and oil vapour,
REPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 203
which would be readily ignited by flame or heat. The oil was tested, and it was found at

230° F. that about 1 per cent, was volatilized daily, and at 500° F. about 9 per cent, was

evaporated daily, and the flashing point was 365° F. It is difficult to understand,

therefore, how an explosive mixture of air and oil vapour could be formed in the air

receiver, owing to the considerable excess of air which would be present, or how it could

become ignited.
It has been suggested by others that the gas given off by the oil at 300° F. might be

ignited by the spontaneous ignition of a piece of cotton waste left in the receiver; but

this appears to be incapable of producing the effects observed.
Professor Bedson, of the Durham College of Science, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has made a

valuable series of experiments to ascertain the temperatures at which coal-dust alone and

the deposit found in the No. 1 air receiver were ignited, when heated in a current of air

at ordinary and higher pressures. It was found impossible to produce combustion of the

deposit, although the temperature of the air at atmospheric pressure was raised to 450° F.;

but with coal-dust alone ignition took place at a temperature of 291° F., and the mass

finally glowed with a dull red heat.
Further experiments were made with air at a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch, the

results of which showed that the temperature of ignition of coal-dust was the same as with

air at ordinary pressures, but when ignition occurred a more intense heat was produced, as

shown by the coking of the dust.
It appears to be highly probable that under a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch the

deposit, consisting of a mixture of coal-dust, mineral oil, soft soap, and moisture, might

have been ignited in the same manner as in the experiments with the coal-dust, although no

such phenomenon was produced in the experiments.
This supposition receives some support from the evidence of heating in the various parts of

No. 1 air receiver. It seems possible, therefore, assuming that the deposit was in a state

of ignition, for destructive distillation of a portion of the deposit to take place,

forming considerable volumes of combustible gases, which would be exploded as soon as the

mixture consisting of the proper proportions of air and the gas (from the distillation of

the oil and coal-dust contained in the receiver) was ignited by the burning deposit.
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

B B
204 EEPORT—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
CONCLUSIONS.
The cause of the explosion of the air receiver cannot, unfortunately, be exactly

determined. It would, however, appear desirable that:
The air used for compressing purposes should be taken as pure as possible, care being taken

in selecting the site for the machinery to avoid the vicinity of gas works, burning heaps

of waste material, or any works such as lime kilns producing stythe or smoke, or any other

gases (inflammable or otherwise) which might be injurious or dangerous to life, if carried

into the mine.
The use of illuminating gas in the engine house should be avoided, as a careless workman

might leave a tap open, and the escaping gas might be drawn into the compressing cylinders.
It would also be advisable to keep the machinery at some distance from the screens so as to

avoid the drawing of the fine coal-dust into the cylinders and delivery pipes.
Attention should be directed to the necessity of a constant and sufficient supply of water

to the jackets of the air cylinders, so as to prevent the danger of spontaneous combustion

of deposits formed in the pipes or vessels.
The danger of using mineral oils of a low flashing point, for lubricating air-compressing

cylinders, is sufficiently obvious.
M. Walton Brown.
APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 205
APPENDIX.
In seeking for an explanation of the explosion of the Eyhope air receiver, there are two

things to be borne in mind :—
1. The particular conditions which would produce a temperature
sufficiently high to ignite an explosive mixture of air and a combustible gas.
2. The production of the explosive mixture.
These are two necessary conditions, as the existence of one without the other would not

lead to results such as those detailed in the report on the explosion.
At the outset, attention was directed to the discovery of some means of obtaining a

temperature sufficiently high to ignite an explosive mixture of air and combustible gas.

These were sought in the conditions under which the air-compressor was working before the

explosion took place, and of these the following appeared to be the most worthy of

attention:—
1. The temperature of the compressed air, brought about by the heat
generated in the compression of air to 58 lbs. pressure. From the report itself, and the

evidence of those examined by the Committee, no knowledge of a very definite or

satisfactory character is to be obtained, and one must look to the theoretical

possibilities and make them the basis of any conclusions. The heat produced by compression

is estimated to be sufficient to raise the temperature of the air from 60° to 369'4° F.

This is, of course, a much higher temperature than would be obtained in practice, as a

considerable proportion of the heat would be lost. Still, there is sufficient indication of

a high temperature having been reached to leave a very considerable margin.
2. The accumulation of coal-dust and lubricant in the pipes leading
from the cylinder to the air receiver, as also in the air
receiver. The existence of this accumulation shows that in working over a considerable

period a large amount of dust must have been drawn with the air into the cylinder.
In the constituents of this accumulation it would appear most probable that the

heat-producer necessary for an explanation of the explosion is to be found. The

constituents were :—
1. A paraffin oil, soap, and water, forming together the lubricant; and
2. The coal-dust which, when mixed with the lubricant, formed the
pitch-like lining of the receiver.
206 APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OF AIE RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
There is nothing in these materials themselves which could in any way give rise to a

production of heat; but this is rather to be sought for in the chemical changes which might

possibly be produced in them by the constant passage over and through them of air at a

temperature such as that to which the air would be raised by compressing it. In considering

the possible changes which might take place, the oil, which is described as a mineral or

paraffin oil (as it consists of a mixture of compounds of carbon and hydrogen, which are

chemically inert), did not appear likely to act as a large contributor to any heat

production. Under the conditions named soap may also be neglected, and the influence of

water at low temperatures may be disregarded; whilst in the carbonaceous material

(representing the coal-dust) is to be found a substance capable of being rapidly oxidised

by the action of heated air, and of having its temperature speedily raised to a point

sufficiently high to start ignition.
At this point it would be well to briefly recapitulate the main phenomena of combustion.
Combustion is the term used to describe those cases of chemical union taking place between

the constituents of a combustible body and the oxygen of the air, resulting in the

formation of new bodies—the products of combustion—and also in the evolution of heat, and

sometimes light. Such a definition would embrace all phenomena of burning, but, in addition

to such, there must be considered those closely allied, and only separated from them by

differences arising from the absence of any visible effect, namely, the phenomena of

oxidation or slow combustion.
The essentials of the two classes of phenomena are well illustrated in the differences

observed between the burning of a piece of iron in the air and in the slow rusting of iron,

and also in the burning of a combustible liquid like alcohol and its slow oxidation. In the

one case you have heat produced sufficient to be evident to the most casual observation, in

the other it is only on closer examination that heat production is made evident. The

difference is essentially one of degree and intensity or rapidity. In order that a

combustible body may burn its temperature must be raised to a given point, which is

specific for each substance, and is known as the temperature of ignition. In the

temperatures of ignition of combustible bodies there are wide differences—some substances

taking fire when brought into contact with the air, whilst others again require to be

heated beyond a red heat before combustion takes place.
Easily oxidisable substances, such as phosphorus, iron, alcohol, etc., can and do unite

with the oxygen of the air at temperatures much below
APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OP AIR RECEIVER AT RYIIOPE. 207
their temperatures of ignition, and in so doing heat is produced, which, if not dissipated,

may serve to gradually raise them to that temperature at which combustion as ordinarily

understood takes place. Facts such as these enable one to give a satisfactory explanation

of the spontaneous ignition of coal cargoes, of heaps of oily waste, etc.
All conditions which bring about an intimate contact between an easily oxidisable substance

and the air will in promoting the oxidation of that substance lead to a production of heat,

which, if allowed to accumulate, may in course of time cause the inflammation or ignition

of the substance or its rapid combustion. The physical state of the combustible has a

powerful influence in such cases, as shown by the simple experiment of pouring a solution

of phosphorus in carbon disulphide over filter paper; the solvent evaporating leaves finely

divided particles of phosphorus disseminated throughout the pores of the paper, and so

exposed to the air that in a few moments the phosphorus is ignited. The same fact is

demonstrated by the spontaneous ignition of pyrophoric iron or lead, i.e., the finely

divided iron or lead resulting from the decomposition of iron oxalate or lead tartrate when

brought into contact with the air.
It would, therefore, appear that for the spontaneous ignition of a combustible body there

is required, primarily, its slow oxidation. The heat thus produced must not be allowed to

be dissipated or conducted away; and, further, all conditions favourable to increasing the

rapidity of this oxidation—such as fine state of division or the application of heat to

either the combustible body or the heating of the air—will tend to shorten the time in

which its temperature of ignition will be reached.
The application of these facts to the Eyhope explosion would appear to be justified, if by

their means it would be possible in any way to explain the production of the two sets of

conditions which have been stated as necessary to account for the phenomena detailed in the

report. In the conditions of working, attention has been fastened on the coal-dust drawn

into the air receiver, and for this reason, that it, of all the constituents of the mud

found in the receiver and elsewhere, constitutes not only the greater proportion, but is

also the most easily oxidisable of these constituents.
The spontaneous ignition of coal heaps, of coal cargoes, etc., the weathering of coal, all

show with what readiness and ease coal undergoes change when in contact with air. The

explanations of these phenomena have from time to time been made the subject of

investigation, and it is to the experiments of Richters (Dingl. Poly. Journ., 190, 193, and

195) and others, that one must look for the facts upon which to base
208 APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
a satisfactory explanation. Richters has shown that when coal is heated at temperatures

from 356° to 374° F. an increase in weight is observed; this increase in weight continues

until a maximum is reached, when further continued exposure to this heat brings about a

slight loss of weight. The analysis of the coal after heating shows that the increase of

weight is due to an absorption of oxygen. This oxygen is not mechanically absorbed, but

rather acts chemically upon constituents of the coal, part of the hydrogen being converted

into water, and a portion of the carbon into carbon dioxide, and a coal is produced altered

in some of its physical properties, and containing a larger proportion of oxygen than does

the original coal. Inasmuch as this absorption of the oxygen of the air by coal takes place

at ordinary temperatures, and when special precautions are taken against a loss of heat,

the action of the oxygen has been demonstrated to be attended by a considerable heating of

the coal, it is evident that this phenomenon accounts not only for the weathering of the

coal but also its spontaneous ignition.
With a view of testing the application of these facts to the case under consideration, a

series of experiments were instituted, in which it was sought to demonstrate the oxidation

of coal-dust by passing air over it at various temperatures under the ordinary pressure.
In this series of experiments the coal-dust was heated in a glass tube, through which a

current of air, dried and freed from carbon dioxide, was forced. After going over the coal

the air was passed through a wash bottle containing lime-water, so that the temperature at

which oxidation first began would be indicated by the milkiness of the lime-water. The tube

was placed in an air-bath, and outside the bath a thermometer was fitted into it. (See

Plate XLVII.)
The following are the results of the experiments with this form of apparatus :—
APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OP AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 209
(a) Time in minutes from the moment when the heating began to the time at which the first

turbidity of the lime-water was noticed.
(h) Temperature of the bath when the lime-water first began to be turbid.
(c) Maximum temperature to which the bath was ultimately raised.
(d) Time the experiment occupied.
(e) Result.
In experiment V. the mixture of coal and oil from the Ryhope air receiver was substitued

for the coal-dust.
It will be seen from these experiments that oxidation commences at as low a temperature as

302° F., as shown by the production of carbon dioxide. Further, in two instances the

ignition of the coal-dust took place when the temperature of the bath had been raised to

351° F. in one case and 401° F. in the second.
Under the conditions of these first experiments but a very small mass of coal-dust Q ounce)

could be used, and exposing very limited surface to the action of the air. With a view of

increasing the mass of coal-dust experimented on, and also enlarging the surface, further

experiments were conducted. In these the coal-dust was (instead of placing it in a tube)

spread in layers about half an inch deep over a small sheet of asbestos, supported in the

air-bath on two glass rods, and a current of air was made to play over the surface of the

coal. Ignition took place at the following temperatures :—
1.-437° to 446° P. ' VI.—410° F.
11.-446° P. VII.—392° „
III.—419° „ VIII.—392° „
IV.—417° „ IX.—374° „
V.—410° „ X.—356° „
In the case of ten experiments the coal fired at temperatures varying from 356° F. to 446°

F., these being the extremes.
These experiments showed that ignition of the coal-dust could be more easily produced when

working under these conditions than when tubes were used, as in the former experiments; and

it was thought that by a further increase of the quantity of coal-dust operated on, and

also of the surface of the dust exposed to the air, a still further reduction of the

temperature might be effected. To test this a second series of experiments were made with a

larger air-bath (see Plate XLVIII.), the coal-dust being placed on a sheet of asbestos

about 9 inches square. Underneath it was a similar sheet to distribute the heat evenly, and

above
210 APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
it a tube bent in the form of a flat spiral and pierced with fine holes, air being forced

through this tube by means of a water blower. The temperature of the bath was carefully

regulated by a thermostat. The following are the results of the experiments with this

apparatus :—
a. b. c. d.
Deg. F. Deg. I\ Min.
I. ... 266 275 330 No ignition.
II. ... 266 274 2,700 Do.
III. ... 271 289 615 Do.
IT. ... 293 302 300 Do.
V. ... 293 302 405 Do.
VI. ... 302 320 80 Ignition.
VII. .... . 302 316 70 Do.
VIII.. ... 280 293 75 Do.
IX. ... 293 293 60 Do.
X. ... 266 291 75 Do.
(a) Temperature to which the bath was heated before the coal was
put in.
(b) Highest temperature of bath.
(c) Time the experiment occupied.
(d) Besult.
In experiments IV. and V. half of the asbestos was covered with the mixture of coal and oil

from the receiver, the other half with coal-dust.
In five out of ten experiments the coal ignited, with the temperature of the bath varying

from 291° F. to 320° F. In none of these cases did the time from which the dust was placed

in the bath to the moment of ignition exceed one hour.
In making these experiments it was observed that in every case in which the ignition of the

dust took place, that immediately after the thermometer immersed in the dust began to rise,

a peculiar odour was noted, soon followed by a rapid rise of temperature as shown by the

thermometer, and a commencement of the burning of the coal as observed by the experimenter.

This remarkable odour in time became of great value, serving as a more valuable indication

of the progress of oxidation than the thermometer itself. The burning of the dust always

commenced in different parts and appeared to have commenced below the surface, and when

once started it would continue to glow until the coal was apparently burnt away. A section

through the coal shows that the central portion was alone completely burnt, the upper and

lower surfaces still retaining a coal-like aspect.
APPENDIX—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYIIOPE. 2] 1
In the experiments in which the ignition of the coal took place the thermometer immersed in

the coal, after reaching the same point as that of the bath, for example, 284° F., would

rise slowly to 356° F. and then rapidly shoot up beyond temperatures registered by a

mercurial thermometer. An experiment was made with an air thermometer, the bulb of which

was immersed in the coal-dust; and starting with the bath at the ordinary temperature and

gradually raising it to 298° F., the indications of the thermometer in the coal-dust showed

that the dust took about half an hour to reach the temperature of the bath, then the

temperature of the coal rapidly rose until, with the bath at 298° F., the coal-dust

ignited.
The readings of the air thermometer show satisfactorily that after the coal-dust reached

the temperature of 356° F. the oxidation is then greatly accelerated and the thermometer

rapidly rises to 392° F., after which it was no longer able to keep pace with the rise in

temperature in the coal, now proceeding with such rapidity that in a few minutes—some two

or three—the coal took fire.
It was next thought desirable to make some experiments with air under pressure. With this

object a strong iron tube A with a collar A1 (Plate XLIX.) was made, provided with three

smaller tubes B with brass collars c at the end of each; the ends of the tube were closed

by thick glass plates D, kept in position by screw caps E fitting on to asbestos washers

and screwed on to the collars. The interior of the tube was illuminated by a gas burner F

placed opposite one of the ends, the light from which reflected by a mirror Gr opposite the

other end, thus enabling the experimenter to observe the changes taking place in the

interior of the tube. Coal-dust was spread over the lower half of the tube—a thermometer H

with bulb immersed in the dust was fixed in the central aperture. Of the two remaining

apertures one was connected with the air receiver containing air under GO lbs. pressure,

the other provided with a small safety-valve furnished with a stop-cock partially closed,

so as to allow for a circulation of the air through the tube. The tube was heated to the

desired temperature by placing it in an air bath carefully heated. A preliminary experiment

was made in the laboratory with a cylinder of compressed air, but the working in this

manner proving unsatisfactory, permission was obtained from Mr. H. Lawrence, of the Grange

Iron Works, to make some trials with air supplied by one of their air-compressing engines.

Two experiments were made, with the result that ignition of the dust was observed to take

place when the coal-dust had been heated to a temperature of 293° F. It was further noted

that in both cases the combustion was vivid at the
VOL.'XXXVJX—1888.

C C
212 APPENDIX—EXPLOSrON OF A IB RECKIVER AT UYHOPE.
part at which air entered from the compressor, and that a higher temperature must have been

reached than when experimenting with air under ordinary pressure was shown by the fact that

particles of coked dust were found amongst the coal after each experiment, a result never

obtained in experiments made at ordinary pressures.
The bearing of these observations on the question under discussion would appear to be:—(1)

It is shown that with an easily oxidisable material, such as coal-dust, it is only

necessary to accelerate the oxidation by heating the dust in contact with air to a

temperature within the limits of those likely to be reached in compressing air to 58 lbs.,

in order to bring about in the course of time the ignition of the dust. (2) These results

have been possible even when experimenting with a comparatively small amount of the

material; an influence of importance, as is shown by the results obtained in the two

different series of experiments made, the conditions of which differed essentially only in

the amount of coal operated upon. In the second series, with 1 oz. a temperature of 356° F.

was required for ignition; whilst in the third series, with 10 ozs., the temperature

required was reduced to 291° F.
Despite the fact that the one or two experiments made with the deposit found in the Byhope

air receiver, made under conditions similar to those in which the coal-dust was

successfully ignited, were not in a like manner successful; still, as there can be no doubt

that this material is of a nature somewhat akin to the coal-dust entering so largely into

its composition, and, like it, capable of being oxidised by the oxygen of the air, the

constant exposure of this substance to the action of air heated by compression must result

in the acceleration of the oxidation, and, as with the coal-dust, in a rise in temperature

until in some portion of the mass local ignition commences. Combustion once begun at any

point in the mass, the conditions are most favourable to its rapid extension. Further, the

heat generated by a combustion of a portion of the mass might serve to destructively distil

neighbouring portions, and thus give rise to the formation of combustible gases, which,

mixing with the air, would form an explosive mixture. An explosive mixture formed under

these conditions would be readily ignited by contact with the already burning material.
In conclusion, I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. Saville Shaw, ¦ of the Durham

College of Science, for the valuable assistance given in conducting these experiments.
P. Phillips Bedson.
DISCUSSION—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 213
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said, there could be no doubt that Professor Bedson had traced to its

source the cause of the accident; and they were very much obliged to hirn for the trouble

he had taken. The information which Professor Bedson had given might be of some assistance

in tracing the effect of coal-dust in colliery explosions. There was no doubt when they

once raised a certain portion of coal-dust to a given temperature that produced gas, the

explosion went from one part of the pit to another ; and in the same way as suggested here,

the high temperature had produced gas, and the explosion had gone forward. But whilst they

had ascertained the source of the explosion at Byhope, he thought there were further means

of preventing a similar explosion that might be taken beyond those suggested in the report.

It was suggested that the bath should be kept full of water, and so the temperature be kept

low. But this was not half sufficient. What was wanted also to be done was to allow water

into the cylinders during compression.
Mr. Lawrence—That has been done.
Mr. Steavenson—But it was not stated in the report. In the report it was stated that

"attention should be directed to the necessity of a constant and sufficient supply of water

to the jackets of the air cylinders, so as to prevent the danger of spontaneous combustion

of deposits formed in the pipes or vessels." It was not for the sake only of preventing

explosions, but also for the sake of economy that water should be used. If the temperature

rose it was not a question of how rapidly that temperature could be reduced. The effect of

throwing water in, instead of compressing about 4 feet, was that they compressed about 3

feet ; and they reduced the compression by one-third. If, instead of having the cylinder

surrounded by water, they also threw water into the cylinders in the form of spray, it

would not only prevent an explosion, but also have a beneficial effect in the way of

economy.
Mr. Gr. B. Forster said he knew one case in which what Mr. Steavenson described was done.

The water was injected into the cylinders so as to fill up and make a cushion for each

stroke; and he thought the effects were very beneficial. They were very much indebted to

Professor Bedson for his paper ; and he hoped it would do something towards the prevention

of such accidents as occurred at Kyhope.
Mr. H. Lawrence said when the compressor was first erected at Byhope colliery the mode of

lubricating was as described in one portion of the report. A certain portion of the

lubricant was put into the cylinders by supplementary valves, which were fitted at each end

of the cylinders; and the quantity to be taken in at each stroke could be
214 DISCUSSION—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
regulated. It was not only put in as a means of lubricating the cylinders, and assisting to

keep the air cool, but also to fill up the spaces at the end of the pistons. That mode was

very shortly laid aside; and the means of lubricating was then by putting soft soap, oil,

and other substances in; and this went on for years successfully, until there came the

mineral oil; and after the mineral oil was used the explosion took place. As to the remarks

of Mr. Steavenson, he might mention that many years previous to the explosion at Ryhope

they made some compressing cylinders for Mr. Daglish, who was the means of their applying

the practice used very much in France, which was exactly what Mr. Steavenson had

described—that was that there was a pump fitted, to the air-compressing cylinders, the

stroke of which was the same, and on the compressing side was enforced cold water in the

shape of very fine spray, meeting the compressor piston and assisting in the compression.

This they had fitted in all the compressor cylinders at Mr. Daglish's establishments; and

after the Ryhope explosion the pump was fitted to both their air-compressors. This being

done there was no fear of an explosion taking place—that was if the explosion referred to

took place from combustible gas in the receiver. Although it was now a long time since the

explosion took place he, as one of the Committee, might say that if there was no other

result of the delay than the valuable experiments made by Professor Bedson, it had

certainly brought a good deal of information to the members of this Institute.
Mr. J. A. G. Ross said, he could bear out the remarks which had been made as to the

economical result of applying water with each stroke. Some years ago he had something to do

with the screw-hopper barges of the Tyne Improvement Commission. The machinery on board the

barges was worked by hydraulic power, which was kept at a good pressure in the air

accumulator, working as high as 700 lbs. per square inch; and it would be impossible to

prevent pipes getting to a red or white heat sometimes. In that case they found efficacy of

each stroke drawing in by suction a very small portion of water. That small portion of

water, injected, or rather taken in by suction, into the cylinders, not only kept the air

cool, but also filled up the air spaces, in which case it was found absolutely unnecessary

to use any lubricant at all. And the same applied to low pressure. In the case of the Swing

Bridge over the Tyne, during its erection, in sinking cylinders the same appliance was used

with the most perfect success, without any difficulty, and without any need for a lubricant

when the machinery was arranged in a proper manner. As to the explosion at Ryhope, he

accompanied Mr. E. B.
DISCUSSION—EXPLOSION OF AIR RECEIVER AT RYHOPE. 215
Martin, a member of this Institute, and chief engineer to the Midland Steam Boiler

Association, to the site of the explosion; and he could quite corroborate the statement

about oxidation. Oxidation seemed, to have been carried on for a very long time, the scaled

portions indicating that combustion had extended over a very great period; but it was quite

local, the indication that a fire had been generated in the receiver from some combustible

material. There was a large quantity of coal-dust soaked in oil. He asked if Professor

Bedson had a specimen of the plate ?
Mr. Brown—Part of the deposit is here.
Mr. Ross—There was great scale on the plate, indicating that combustion had been going on

for some time.
Principal Garnett said, there was only one point which he thought it worth while for him to

mention, and that was the increasing intensity of the explosion as it went down the shaft.

The phenomena observed in the shaft afforded a good illustration of what was known as

"detonation" as distinguished from explosions. The explosion in the receiver started a wave

of compression, which produced a sufficiently high temperature to cause the generation of

combustible matter in the pipe. This combustion increased the temperature and the pressure,

and thus the wave of compression went on increasing in intensity until it was capable of

producing the stupendous effects observed at a distance of 200 fathoms from the receiver.

This subject had been carefully investigated by Professor Dixon, of Manchester.
Mr. John Daglish said, there were two systems of supplying water to air-compressors; one

was by suction in the manner mentioned by Mr. Ross, and the other was by driving it into

the cylinders. This was the mode urged by French engineers. Water was injected as a very

fine spray, against a knife edge if possible, so that it might be dissipated in the form of

vapour, and there was no increase in heat. This raised the interesting question, which was

discussed at this Institute, and in which Professor Herschel took some interest, upon the

effect on compressed air by the temperature being reduced. It was a very . complicated

question, and was treated very ably by Professor Herschel in the Transactions.
Mr. Walton Brown said, that as to the explosion in the pipe, caused, as Professor Garnett

said, by the transmission of force, he thought the whole of the Committee were satisfied

that the second explosion had taken place either in the receiver at the bottom of the shaft

or in the pipes, because there was evidence of the flame having gone in that direction.
A DISCUSSION—EXPLOSION OF A III RECEIVER AT RYHOPE.
Mr. Daglish—Why should not Professor Garnett's explanation account for this ? It is very

interesting. Why should the flame have gone down from the surface this way ?
Mr. Walton Brown—The Committee accept the explanation that the flame went down, but the

pipe explosion at the bottom was caused, they thought, by the ignition of gas.
Mr. Daglish—Is Professor Garnett's explanation a new one ?
Principal Garnett said, it was not altogether new. He repeated his explanation of the wave

of compression increasing in intensity as it went down the pipe. The compression produced a

sufficient explosion to further raise the temperature, and this went on and produced

stupendous effects.
Mr. Daglish thought the question brought before them by Professor Garnett was of interest,

because when they examined a pit where there had been what they conceived to be a coal-dust

explosion, they noticed in a striking manner that the force of the explosion was very much

greater at a long distance in than at the origin of the explosion. This was almost

invariably the case.
The President said, it was now his duty to move a vote of thanks to the writer of the

report, and to Professor Bedson for the admirable researches which he had set forth in the

appendix. He must congratulate the city of Newcastle on the great assistance which the

Durham College of Science was able to afford to the mining engineer and to the city

generally. By the inauguration of the College in Newcastle they had been able to draw into

their midst men competent to undertake the investigation of those natural laws which lie at

the foundation of all such phenomena as had been described that day. In connection with the

college were gentlemen not only able but also willing to devote their time and talents to

tracing out the cause of explosions such as they had heard about that day; and the members

must permit him to thank those gentlemen connected with the College for the useful

information which they afforded the members. He did not remember whether Professor Bedson

had taken any means to ascertain whether the temperature caused by the heating of

coal-dust, or the material inflamed under the chimney that afternoon, would produce an

explosion of the gas they had to deal with in mines. It was, not merely an elevation of the

temperature that was wanted, but they required—if he remembered rightly his reading of Sir

H. Davy's experiments—a flame to cause the explosion of a mixture of marsh gas and air. He

did not know whether Professor Bedson had ascertained whether the temperature of

incandescent coal-dust would be sufficient to generate such a gas in the receiver itself.
discussion—explosion oe air receiver at ryhope. 217
Professor Bedson said, they had not made any experiments on this point. In working with

coal-dust alone and air at ordinary pressure the mass after ignition became simply

incandescent, but with compressed air the temperature in parts would be much higher, the

intensity of the action being greater. In working with oil in the last experiments, the

continued heating of the mixture resulted in a gradual expulsion of a large portion of the

oil, and, after the ignition of the coal itself, the vapours produced by the distillation

of the oil were ignited.
The President—Am I right that Sir Humphrey Davy found that a dull red heat was not

sufficient to ignite a mixture of marsh gas and air ?
Professor Bedson—That is so.
Mr. John Marley seconded the vote of thanks, and it was agreed to.
Owing to the lateness of the hour, it was resolved to postpone till the next meeting the

reading of Mr. A. L. Steavenson's paper, on "Timber v. Steel in Mining."
PROCEEDINGS. 21!)
PROCEEDINGS.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4th, 1888. Sib LOWTHIAN BELL, Babt., Retibing

Peesident, in the Chaie.
The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting and reported the proceedings of the

Council.
The following gentlemen were elected :—
Obdinaby Membeb—
W. Thompson, Mining Engineer, Connaught Mansions, Victoria Street, Westminster, London.
Associate Membeb— Reginald Gutheie, Secretary, Coal Trade Associations, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
The Secretary read the Annual Report.
The President said there was nothing in the report requiring any observations from him, and

he, therefore, would content himself with simply moving its adoption.
Mr. Geo. B. Forster seconded the motion, and it was agreed to.
Messrs. W. H. Hedley, Henry Jepson, and J. R. Irvine, were appointed scrutineers for the

election of officers for the ensuing year, and they handed in the following as the list of

officers:—
VOL. XXXVII.-1888.

^ ^
220 PROCEEDINGS.
PRESIDENT.
John Marley, Esq.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
Ctjthbert Berkley, Esq. Thomas Douglas, Esq.
T. J. Bewick, Esq. A. L. Steavenson, Esq.
Wm. Cochrane, Esq. James Willis, Esq.
COUNCIL.
Wm. Armstrong, Jun., Esq. Wm. Lishman, Esq.
J. B. Atkinson, Esq. G. May, Esq.
T. W. Benson, Esq. Prof. J. H. Merivale.
R. P. Boyd, Esq. R. Robinson, Esq.
M. Walton Brown, Esq. J. B. Simpson, Esq.
S. C. Crone, Esq. T. H. M. Stratton, Esq.
W. H. Hedley,- Esq. J. G. Weeks, Esq.
H. Lawrence, Esq. W. H. Wood, Esq.
T. Lishman, Jun., Esq. W. O. Wood, Esq.
The President—As the President-elect is present, perhaps you will allow me to congratulate

him upon the choice of the members.
Mr. John Maeley—Mr. President, I feel honoured by the election that has just been made. I

will do my best to imitate the ten Presidents that have gone before me, the last, and I

believe, not the least of them, being yourself.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson read the following paper " On the Introduction of Steel Supports for

the Maintenance of Main Roads in the Mines of Cleveland."
STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES. 221
ON THE INTRODUCTION OF STEEL SUPPORTS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF MAIN ROADS IN THE MINES OF

CLEVELAND.
By A. L. STEAVENSON.
The paper which was read at the meeting in April on Iron Supports has led the writer to

contribute his share to the common fund of information on the subject.
In February, 1885, he was asked to consider and give his views upon the suitability of

steel for mining purposes, and having visited the steel works at Darlington, and selected

such sections as seemed suitable, he reported in favour of a trial, but suggested—" timber

will bend and give notice before breaking ; will steel do the same ? "
The result was, 3 tons of girders, 69 lbs. per yard, and 2 tons for packing, known as

channel, 16 lbs. per yard, of various lengths, to be used as cross pieces or packing, were

obtained. See Plate L.
Most of the members probably know timber is a heavy item in the cost of ironstone at some

mines; very large balks are required, viz., from 12 to 16 feet long, and 7 to 8| inches in

diameter at the small end, weighing from 1 to 3 cwts., and, owing to the damp atmosphere,

their average life is not much over two years.
Larch is preferably used peeled, and Riga and Norway, and yet good as it always is in

quality, the resident manager reports—" We have some timber crossings that have been put in

three times during the last four years;" this, of course, implies a large amount of labour

as well as material.
The annual timber bill at the mines of Messrs. Bell Bros., Ltd., in Cleveland, now, does

not fall far short of £10,000, although trade is slack and short time is worked.
The variation in cost of timber at different mines, is very striking, viz., from 0"10d. up

to 5d. per ton, according to the conditions of roof, and the proportion of whole and broken

mine being worked.
The roof is, of course, the Upper Lias or alum shale, 200 feet in thickness, but in some

places there is a few inches, occasionally amounting to 2 feet, of dogger ironstone, which

helps to make a roof, so that in such
222 STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES.
mines no timber is used in the whole mine ; but in the frequent absence of sufficient

dogger, or when removing the pillars additional weight is incurred, much of this 200 feet

has to be borne by the timber.
In a large majority of mines, after the whole mine is worked and before removal of pillars,

this shale gradually falls and fills up the " broken" ground.
Before deciding finally to adopt steel for the main roads, it seemed very desirable that an

actual test of the strength of the full-sized girder should be made, rather than trust to

any mere calculation, based upon the reputed tensile strength of steel, especially with a

view to proving, in case of any future contingencies, that the change had not been made

without full consideration of such questions, and in view of the somewhat conflicting data

given by the authorities as to the relative strength of good wrought iron and steel.
Molesworth gives the latter a greater tenacity of 39 per cent. Mr. Adamson, in his address

to the Iron and Steel Institute, says about 30 per cent. A committee of the Institution of

Civil Engineers puts the tensile breaking weight in tons per square inch of Yorkshire iron,

23*70 ; Bessemer steel, 31*92; or 30 per cent, in favour of the steel; whilst De Bergne &

Co., of Manchester, in some special tests of Bessemer steel, prove it be 40 to 50 per cent,

stronger than iron for structural purposes.
These tests the writer proceeded to carry out upon a few steel girders and full-sized

timber balks, and he also, as a part of the investigation, made a number of experiments on

a small scale upon timber.
For girders and large balks a suitable place was selected in the mines, near where water

pipes for other purposes had been provided.
Recesses were cut in which to place the girders near the roof, as in ordinary use, and by

means of a lever, made from a 75 lb. rail (L), an empty iron tub (T), Plate L., was

suspended, capable of being slowly filled with water, until it brought down the specimen

under examination—the weight of water required, tub, and leverage being easily got.
The large balks of timber were in the same way put to an actual test, just as they are

used, except that the load was at the centre instead of distributed.
In all questions of strength of timber, Barlow may be said to be " the authority " in this

country. His first essay on the subject appeared in 1817, and a sixth edition in 1867. He

recites experiments by Buffon on pieces 4 to 8 inches square, and he adds—" These are, it

is presumed, all that are historically deserving of any particular notice in this place."
STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES. 223
He also mentions experiments by Colonel Beaufoy in the dockyard at Deptford, on specimens 5

feet long and 2 inches square ; also by Messrs. Peake and Barrallier, 2 inches square; and

by Mr. Conch, on triangular prisms, the sides being 3 inches.
Barlow's tests were all on small sections of from 1 to 2 inches square.
The objection to testing such small pieces is recognised by Gregory in his chapter on the "

Strength of Materials," when he says—" If the material is of cast metal it is found that

the exterior hard crust is different to that of the interior .... and in the case

of fibrous
material or timber.....in cutting the bar to the required
dimensions many of the exterior fibres will be cut transversely, and will not, therefore,

be capable of so great a proportionate strength as the similar fibres within the more

central portion of the bar."
Another writer on the same subject, in a paper read to the Society of Engineers, says:—" It

may be remarked, however, that the greater part of these (experiments on timber) also are

open to the objection before referred to of having been made upon exceedingly small

pieces."
Numerous and very careful researches have also been made into the qualities of Colonial

timbers; but without attempting any serious investigation of the subject, the writer has

made what may be called a few " every-day" tests sufficient to satisfy himself in a

practical way as to what the mines timber will actually carry, how far the steel girders

may with safety be used instead, together with a little insight into the question of

relative cost. Of course, timber in mines has its load distributed, whereas in results now

got the weight was suspended from the centre.
The beams were also to some extent fixed, increasing to one and a half times the breaking

weight when freely supported; but as in daily use they are fixed, it was the best

arrangement, and, in fact, necessary, to prevent the girder canting under its load.
The girders finally adopted, and which have given every satisfaction, are 50 lbs. per yard.
One of these, it will be seen, carried 9*36 tons, when it overcame the supports and canted

to one side, after carrying at least double the breaking load of timber as shown in Table

C; the next, a 66 lb. girder, sunk under a load of 12*62 tons without fracture, and was

afterwards straightened and put into use. These were considered sufficient to show the

capacity, so long as the quality was maintained; and it is satisfactory to be able to add,

that out of nearly 200 tons now in operation, there has been only one girder a failure,

i.e., broken short.
224 STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES.
The writer does not propose to use these results as evidence sufficient to base any general

assumption of tensile or transverse strength. They are too few, and show too great a

difference to permit of it; in fact, the figures obtained and given by Barlow, hardly

warrant any general conclusion to be drawn.
Take, for instance, his larch results: with similar specimens, 6 feet by 2 inches square,

he gets a breaking weight in lbs. of 300 in one case, and 552 in another, and his

resistance of a rod an inch square, where
Zx W
— Aad2
varies from 853 up to 1,149, the only safe manner in which to treat the question, is to

deal as with a chain, where it is said that its strength is that of its weakest link.
On this point Box, in his work upon the strength of materials, sayS:_" Experiments have

shown that there is great variableness in the strength of all materials, even when

apparently of the same strength and quality. The mean strength, as found by numerous

experiments, is usually taken, and it becomes a matter of considerable practical importance

that the engineer should know within what limits the strength may probably vary, and

particularly that the probable minimum should be known." He also shows that larch, our

hitherto favourite mines timber, is very variable.
An excellent article on this point appeared in The Engineer, 22nd February, 1861. The

writer quotes a Table of Experiments sent to the Iron Commission by Mr. Eobert Stephenson,

made to determine the best iron for the construction of the High Level Bridge, in which 1

inch bars on 3 feet supports gave results varying from 518 to 1,072 lbs.
But we have by the few tests made on a large scale demonstrated with sufficient clearness

that the timber, as daily used, is much inferior to the steel girders in point of strength,

of much importance where the roof is heavy. Fewer pieces are required, and a much better

and neater arrangement is produced; it also reduces the number of props, and makes a

clearer road for men and horses.
Other testimony may be found to the same effect in the Transactions of the Midland

Institute, Vol. X. We have" an account, by Mr. Smith, of the importance of additional

strength in goaf roads. He says:—"These steel girders have given much greater satisfaction

than the usual timbering, with which it was very difficult to maintain a road at all. So

far, out of some thousands in use, only nine have broken."
STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES. 225
Of the reduction of obstruction in the roads by the use of steel instead of timber, we find

in the Bulletin de la Societe de VIndustrie Minerals, Vol. XV.:—
Cross Section of Roadway. Proportion.
Gross square feet. Clear square feet. Per cent.
Iron frames ...... 33'8 27"4 81
Timbering ...... 78'6 40-9 52
Brick arching ...... 84"5 81*2 37
which is a satisfactory confirmation. For every day use in the working places the question

of length of life does not arise, since timber in such cases is not worn out by age, but by

fixing, and removing frequently from place to place.
The economy to be effected is not, of course, in first cost. In fact, as the following

figures show, it is considerably more; but whilst the timber often averages a life of not

more than eighteen months, the steel, so far as we see, with three and a half years'

experience, appears to be a permanent job.
The cost of what in mining
language we call " board end cross- f~~ ~~1
ings" seems to offer the best oppor- ~~n x"
tunity for comparison of steel with
timber, and details are given in
Tables A and B, also sketches. **>™"*'" or G,*oc*
These do not show the packing,
which in bad roofs is an important
item; but it will be readily seen
what a much lighter and neater
arrangement is the result.
The headways 12 feet and the board ends 14 feet in width, taking
six of each kind as a sample, we y \^
find that, including the packing /"" \
material and all labour, the average cost of steel is £5 4s. Id., against timber £3

16s. 6d., or an increase of 36 per cent, as the cost of permanency and greater efficiency.
APPENDIX.
TESTS OF SMALL SAMPLES OF VARIOUS SIZES OF NORWAY, LARCH, AND RIGA TIMBER.
The arrangement or apparatus for experimenting consisted of a pair of uprights, upon which,

8 feet from the ground, the specimen to be tested could be rested, and by chains suitably

attached a platform was suspended, weighing 24 lbs., upon which 28 lbs. weights were

quietly deposited, the deflection caused being registered.
The whole of the observations were very carefully made by the writer, at intervals of spare

time extending over several months, the net results being that the value of MT or

transverse strength or central breaking weight of a beam 1 inch square and 1 foot long

between end bearings was—
Riga MT - 475
Norway „ = 460
Larch ,, = 395
244 DISCUSSION—STEEL SUPPORTS IN MINES.
Professor Merivale—As Mr. Steavenson is engaged in experiments, T would ask if he has made

any with creosoted timber, and, if not, perhaps he may be able to add some experiments upon

this form of mining timber ?
Mr. Steavenson—No ; he had not made any experiments with creosoted timber. They had used it

at the collieries for main roads, and no doubt it was an improvement upon timber that was

uncreosoted, but he preferred steel under their circumstances. They were using creosoted

timber at the collieries. The objection to creosoted timber for mining purposes was that if

they once cut it, or even put in a nail, they destroyed the effect of the creosotiug. They

must use the timber as it was sent out when creosoted.
Mr. (tEO. B. Forster said, they must use steel in the same way. He had used a considerable

amount of creosoted timber in his time, and he had some which had been in, he believed,

twenty-four or twenty-fis7e years, and there was no perceptible sign of decay. He himself

did not think that the cutting of the timber absolutely injured it. The President suggested

to him to refer to the case of railway sleepers, which were made of creosoted timber, and

holes were bored into the sleepers to receive the plugs. He agreed with Mr. Steavenson as

to the superiority of steel in the way of strength and handiness, but he thought it would

be found that creosoted timber would last quite as long as steel. So far as durability

went, creosoted timber would last a long time. It was all well enough in Cleveland to use

steel, where they had particular widths of drifts, and where they knew exactly what they

were going to do; but in coal mining they had a great variety of cross places and drifts,

and sometimes a balk of timber was more handy to arrange and set up than steel.
Professor Merivale said, there were other things besides creosote used in preserving

timber. Sulphate of copper was used. He would like Mr. Steavenson to extend his

experiments, and give them some information as to the preservation of timber.
Mr. James Willis—I apprehend Mr. Steavenson's paper is more as to the strength of steel as

compared with timber.
Mr. Steavenson—In the case of creosoting timber you do not increase the strength at all. We

can have something like double the strength with steel.
A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Steavenson for his paper.
Professor P. Phillips Bedson, D.Sc, read the following paper on " A Contribution to our

Knowledge of Coal-dust."
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 245
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDOxE OF COAL-DUST.
By Professor P. PHILLIPS BEDSON, D.Sc, P.C.S., Durham College of Science.
Some months ago Mr. W. F. Hall drew the writer's attention to a matter he had occasionally

observed at the screens of one of the collieries under his management. It had been noticed

that, when screening a certain coal, with the wind in a given direction, the dust would

rise in considerable volume, forming a cloud slowly moving up the screens, and on one or

two occasions at night-time this mixture of air and coal-dust took fire at the lamp used to

light the screens, producing a species of explosion. As this phenomenon was observed with

only one variety of coal, it was suggested that this behaviour was to be accounted for by

the dust holding combustible gases enclosed in it.
The writer undertook to put the suggestion to the test of experiment, and for this purpose

obtained several samples of this coal-dust produced in the screening of this coal. The

results of the experiments indicate that this suggestion has opened up a rich field for

future investigation, of which this paper contains but the first instalment.
GASES ENCLOSED IN COAL.
Before proceeding to detail the experiments made with coal-dust, it may not be out of place

to pass in brief review the main facts respecting the gases " enclosed in " coal.* These

facts have been brought to light by the investigations of Dr. E. von Meyer {Journal Pract.

Ghem. (2), v. 144-183 and 407-416, also Journal Chem. Society, x. 798) and of Mr.W. J.

Thomas {Journal Chem. Society, 1875 and 1876).
In 1872, von Meyer published the results of his experiments with coals of German origin,

and also with certain samples from the Durham and Newcastle coal-fields. The gases were

expelled by placing a known weight of the coal, broken into small pieces, in hot water

already freed
* See Transactions of the Mining Institute, Vol. XXII. 25, XXV. 41, XXVI. 36, where

valuable communications on this subject by the late Professor Freirc-Marreco will be found.
246 A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
from air, and maintained at the boiling point for some time. The volume of gas so expelled

varies with the different coals experimented on. In one case the volume of gas was only

22-5 cubic centimetres per 100 grammes of coal, whilst in another case—viz., the coal from

Wingate Grange—the volume was found to be 238 cubic centimetres per 100 grammes of coal.

Or, supposing the specific gravity of coal to be 1*8, in the first case the volume of gas

would be nearly one-third of the volume of the coal whilst in the second case the volume of

the gas is nearly three times that of the coal. Von Meyer has also shown that freshly

raised coal gives a larger volume of gas than coal which has been exposed to the air for a

considerable period.
The analysis of these gases revealed the fact that in the majority of cases they consist of

mixtures of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and marsh gas, in varying proportions. In

some few cases the latter named gas was not found. Von Meyer draws attention to another

fact which will be of interest in connection with the experiments on coal-dust, viz., that

the weathered coals examined by him not only give a smaller volume of gases, but, further,

that these gases differ in quality from those obtained from the freshly-raised coal from

the same pit. This difference consists in the presence amongst these gases of hydrocarbons

belonging to the same series as olefiant gas, and also of other members of the series to

which marsh gas belongs, viz., the paraffins.
In 1875, Thomas, in a paper read before the Chemical Society in London, gave an account of

the results he had obtained with different varieties of coal of the South Wales basin; and

in the following year he described the results of his experiments on the gases enclosed in

cannel coals and jet. Thomas's method of extracting the gases differed from that already

described. He proceeded as follows :—
Slices of coal were sawn out of the middle of large cubes, and a strip about § of an inch

in thickness and from 6 to 8 inches in length was again cut from the middle of this slice.

The edges of the strip were carefully rounded off so as to make it slide readily into a

glass tube of the proper diameter. After brushing away the adherent dust, the coal, some 10

to 30 grammes in weight, was placed in a glass tube drawn out into a narrow neck at one

end, by which it was connected with a Sprengel air pump. The other end of the tube was

carefully sealed off before the blowpipe, and the tube exhausted by the Sprengel pump. When

the whole of the air was removed, the tube was raised to 100° C. (212° F.) by placing it in

boiling water, and maintained at this temperature for several hours until the mercury pump

ceased to bring over any appreciable quantity of gas.
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 247
It will be seen then that Thomas obtained the enclosed gases by heating the coal in a

vacuum at 100° C, but, as this experimenter points out, the whole of the enclosed gases are

not given off at this temperature, nor even at 200° C. or at 800° C.—a point close to that

at which decomposition of the coal itself begins.
Steam coal, bituminous coal, and anthracites were the classes of coals experimented on by

Thomas. His results show that under the conditions of the experiments, anthracites give the

largest volume of gas, steam coals stand next, and bituminous coal gives the smallest

volume. The volume of gas appears to depend in a great measure on the structure of the

coal, hard compact steam coal giving almost as large volumes as anthracites.
In composition the gases exhibit a general resemblance to those obtained by von Meyer.
Cannel coals and jet contain similar gases enclosed in them. Amongst these have been found

higher members of the paraffin series and also some members of the olefines.
GASES ENCLOSED IN COAL-DUST. Thomas's method of extracting the gases from coal appeared the

more suitable for the treatment of coal-dust, and with but few slight modifications this

method has been adopted. The coal-dust was collected at the colliery in stoppered glass

bottles, the weight of which had been determined, and which were again weighed after

filling ; in this way the weight of coal-dust was ascertained. When required for an

experiment the stopper of the bottle is replaced by a tightly-fitting india-rubber stopper

to the under side of which is fastened and held by a wire cage a plug of cotton wool, to

prevent the coal-dust from being drawn over into the air pump. Into the stopper is fitted a

glass tube attached by stout india-rubber tubing to the mercury air pump, by means of which

the bottle is completely exhausted and in which the gases given off from the dust are

collected. The necessary heating of the coal-dust is accomplished by placing the bottle in

a long tin cylinder provided with a stage on which the bottle rests and is thus kept at a

height of an inch or so above the bottom of the cylinder. The cylinder is filled with brine

so that the bottle is almost completely immersed in it, and then closed with a lid provided

with an aperture for the neck of the bottle and also with openings for a thermometer and a

thermo-regulator by which means the temperature of the brine can be carefully regulated and

maintained at a specific temperature for any length of time.
248 A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
The mercury pump used is of simple construction, and was made by Mr. Saville Shaw,

Demonstrator in Chemistry in the Durham College of Science. It consists of a piece of stout

glass tubing to which is fused a side tube a, provided with a tap. This tube serves to

connect the vessel to be exhausted with the pump. The distance from the side piece to the

end of the longer limb is about 30 inches. The end of the shorter limb is carefully ground

and attached by thick-walled india-rubber tubing to the pear-shaped glass vessel b. The

india-rubber joint was next completely covered with a coating of Faraday's cement, and the

entire apparatus attached to a wooden support, the portions joined together by india-rubber

tubing being embedded in plaster of Paris. In this way a perfectly air-tight joint was

obtained, as shown by the actual testing of the apparatus. The pear-shaped vessel b is

closed by an india-rubber stopper in which is fitted a glass tube d provided with a tap.

The stopper is made perfectly tight by covering it over with cement. Attached to the end of

the tube e, by means of stout india-rubber tubing, is a vessel /, used to hold the mercury,

and so slung that it can be raised and lowered at will.
The method of using the pump is extremely simple. In the first place, the tap on the side

tube is closed and that on the collecting vessel b is opened. By raising the movable vessel

/ previously filled with mercury, the tubes and collecting vessel are entirely filled, the

air being expelled through the tube d. The tap on d is now closed and the vessel / lowered.

In this manner a barometer is obtained the reservoir of which is the vessel /, the

mercurial column is in e, with its upper level below a, and above is the Torricellian

vacuum. By repeating this operation a vessel attached to the side tube can in a very short

time be completely exhausted.
The above description of this pump has been given with the view of showing how simply,

efficiently, and cheaply, such a pump may be constructed, for there are several forms in

use, but constructed entirely
of glass.
The advantage of a pump of this description over the ordinary Sprengel for this special

work, is the small amount of attention it requires, for when once the bottle containing the

dust has been exhausted the heating of the bath surrounding the bottle begins; and when the

temperature has been adjusted, the whole may be left for any length of time, the gas given

off from the coal-dust gradually passing over into the collecting vessel b. When desired,

the gas produced is expelled through the tube d, by raising the vessel /, and allowing the

mercury to flow
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 249
into b. The expelled gases are collected in graduated vessels suitably attached to d.
The method of extracting the enclosed gases consisted, therefore, in placing a known weight

of the coal-dust in a bottle, and after exhaustion by means of a mercurial air pump, the

coal-dust was heated in a water bath, the gas produced collected, and after determining the

volume, submitted to analysis.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS.
I.—588-5 grammes of coal-dust, heated for two days at 100° C. (212° F.), gave 215'6 cubic

centimetres of gas, measured at 17° C, and under a pressure of 29-54 inches, which is

equivalent to 196-5 cubic centimetres of gas measured at 0° C. (32° F.), and 760 mm. (29'92

inches.) After the removal of this gas, the heating of the coal was continued for another

day, and 15 cubic centimetres of gas at 12° C. and • 30-36 inches, were obtained,

equivalent to 14*37 cubic centimetres of gas at 0° C. and 29-92 inches. From this it

follows that 100 grammes of coal-dust give 36-5 cubic centimetres of gas at 0° C. and 760

mm.
II.—In the second experiment, 869*1 grammes of coal were employed, which, after heating for

six hours and a half, gave a volume of gas equivalent to 476 cubic centimetres of gas at 0°

C. and 760 mm. A second extraction gave an additional volume of 100*4 cubic centimetres of

gas at 0° C. and 760 mm., making a total of 576*4 cubic centimetres of gas, representing

66-3 cubic centimetres of gas per 100 grammes of coal.
III.—In the third experiment the method of treatment was somewhat different. The coal-dust

was left under reduced pressure for eleven days, and the amount of gas given off collected

and measured. It was next heated for eight days, at 50° C, the gas produced removed as

before. Then the heating was continued for thirty hours at 70° C, then heated again for

thirty hours at the same temperature, and finally for forty hours at 100° C. In this way

five different extractions were performed : first at the ordinary temperature, and reduced

pressure, the second at 50° C, the third and fourth at 70° C, and the fifth at 100° C. The

weight of coal-dust used was 673 grammes, and the following volumes of gas, reduced to 0°

C. and 760 mm. (29*92 inches), obtained at each extraction. First, 22*4 cubic centimetres;

second, 48*5 cubic centimetres; third, 117*44 cubic centimetres; fourth, 48*5 cubic

centimetres; fifth, 143*2 cubic centimetres, making a total of 380*04 cubic centimetres, or

56*3 cubic centimetres per 100 grammes of coal-dust.
250 A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
These results may be stated somewhat differently if it is assumed that the dust is

compressed into coal of the specific gravity of L'8. Then in the first experiment the dust

would contain about half its own volume of " enclosed gases," the second experiment about

eight-tenths, and in the third about seven-tenths.
That coal-dust should, like coal itself, contain gas enclosed in it, is not in itself

remarkable, but what appears more worthy of remark is the nature of the gases themselves.

The analysis of the gases obtained in the manner described have been made by means of the

methods and apparatus due to Hempel, which, whilst admirably adapted for technical

purposes, are perhaps wanting in the refinement of the methods usually adopted in purely

scientific work. Still, as the space at disposal in the laboratory of the College was such

as to preclude the use of such methods, an attempt has been made to do the best under the

circumstances.
Analysis has shown the gases obtained from this coal-dust to con--sist of mixtures of

oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, possibly some carbon monoxide,* and in addition to these

certain gaseous compounds of carbon and hydrogen or hydrocarbons. Of the different series

of hydrocarbons known two need only be considered here. There is, first, the series known

as the paraffins, which contain these elements in such proportions that their composition

may be represented by a general formula, CnH2n + 2, in which 0 represents twelve parts by

weight of carbon, and H one part by weight of hydrogen, and further, n is a whole number.

Marsh gas is that member of this series in which n is one, and is the first of the series;

a large number of these hydrocarbons are known, the lower members are gases, then follows a

number of liquids such as are contained in petroleum oils, and finally, there are solids,

of which ordinary paraffin wax is a mixture.
The other series of hydrocarbons which require to be mentioned here are the olefines, the

first member being olefiant gas, a constituent of coal gas, and having the formula C2H4.

All the hydrocarbons of this series have the same percentage composition as olefiant gas,

and this may be represented by a general formula, CnH2n, in which n is a whole number. In

this series, as in the paraffins, there is a gradation of physical properties, the lower

members in the formula of which n is either 2, 8, 4, are gases, then as n increases there

follow liquids and finally solids.
* The evidence of the presence of this gas is indirect only, the amounts represent the

volumes absorbed, after the removal of oxygen, by an ammoniacal solution of cuprous

chloride.
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 251
Now the hydrocarbons of this series differ from those of the paraffins, inasmuch as they

are more readily acted upon by certain reagents, and are absorbed by certain bodies,

whereas the paraffins are unacted upon. One of the best absorbents for the gaseous members

of this series is fuming sulphuric acid.
Now, in the analysis of such a mixture of gases as those obtained from coal-dust, the

proportion of certain of these, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, and carbon monoxide, is

determined by the use of reagents which absorb them. The amount of olefines can in a

similar manner be determined by using strung sulphuric acid as the absorbent. After

removing all these gases by the appropriate reagents, there is left a mixture of nitrogen

and some member or members of the paraffin series. In determining the quantity and also

quality of these hydrocarbons in such a mixture, use is made of the fact that, when mixed

with oxygen, they may be exploded, forming carbon dioxide and water. The contraction

resulting from the production of the water, the volume of carbon dioxide produced, and also

the volume of oxygen used, are of service in giving not only the volume of the gas, but

also a clue to its probable formula.
Thus, to take a simple case—that of marsh gas—the following equation represents what takes

place when this gas is exploded with an excess of oxygen :—
CH4 + 202 = C02 + 2H20.
2v. 4v. 2v.
2 volumes of marsh gas give 2 volumes of carbon dioxide, and require 4 volumes of oxygen to

burn it—or 1 volume of marsh gas requires 2 volumes of oxygen, and produces 1 volume of

carbon dioxide—further, the 3 volumes of marsh gas and oxygen are, after explosion,

represented by 1 volume of carbon dioxide, and the contraction due to the condensation of

the steam is 2.
The next member of the series, ethane, the formula of which is C2H6, requires for its

combustion a different proportion of oxygen, and gives a larger volume of carbon dioxide.

Its complete combustion is represented by the following equation:—
C2H6 + 70 = 2C02 + 3H20.
Or, 2 volumes of this gas require 7 volumes of oxygen, and give 4 volumes of carbon dioxide

and a contraction of 5 volumes. Or, again, taking a paraffin of the general formula

CnH2u+2, its combustion may be represented by the following equation:—
CnH2n + 2 + (3n + 1) 0 = nC02 + (n + 1) H20.
VOL. XXXVII.-18H8.

H H
252 A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
And since CnH2n + 2 represents the weight of the hydrocarbon which in the gaseous state

would occupy the same volume as the amount of marsh gas represented by its formula CH4,

from the above equation it can be deduced that 2 volumes of such a hydrocarbon require (3n

+ 1) volumes of oxygen, and produce 2n volumes of carbon dioxide, and give a contraction of

(n + 3) volumes. Or 1 volume of any
gaseous paraffin, on burning, requires —-— volumes of oxygen, pro-
duces n volumes of carbon dioxide, and gives a contraction of —\—
volumes.
It will thus be seen that the determination of the volume of oxygen required to burn a

given volume of a gaseous member of this series, also the volume of carbon dioxide and the

contraction, may be used as a means of fixing the value of n, and thus giving a clue to the

formula of the compound. With a mixture of members of this series n will be found not to be

an integer.
Inasmuch as in the methods employed the gases have been measured over water, it has been

impossible to determine with the necessary accuracy the volume of carbon dioxide formed,

but this difficulty has been got over by taking the total contraction after explosion,

represented by the sum of the actual contraction, and also the volume of the carbon dioxide

produced. This represents the volume of the combustible gas and the oxygen required for its

combustion. In the case of marsh gas, 1 volume of this gas would give a total contraction

of 3 volumes, and with a hydrocarbon of the formula CnH2n + 2, the total contraction would
be —5—, where n represents the number of carbon atoms in the molecule.
In the analysis of the gases, the author has determined the value of n by means of the

proportion of oxygen required to burn one volume of the gas, and also by the aid of the

total contraction.
The method of working will be best illustrated by an example:— 25 volumes of a mixture of a

paraffin and nitrogen gave on contraction 27*3 volumes, 22*1 volumes of carbon dioxide,

required 407 volumes of oxygen, and left a residue of 16'3 volumes of nitrogen. There are,

therefore, 25 — 16*3, viz., 87 volumes of combustible gas, which produced the above

contraction, carbon dioxide, etc., from which calculation gives the following :—
1 volume of combustible gas would produce a contraction of 3*13 volumes, and 2*53 volumes

of carbon dioxide (or a total contraction of
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 253
5-66 volumes), and would require 4*67 volumes of oxygen. Then the value of n is found by

the equations :—
3n -f- 3
-—^— = 5'66 for total contraction
and -—-— = 4-67 for the oxygen.
The first of these gives a value 278 for n and the second 277. Such a value for n would

indicate that in all probability the gas in question is a mixture of marsh gas CH4 and the

hydrocarbon C8H8 or propane. It has not been considered necessary to calculate the possible

composition of the mixture; such results are sufficient to show that a mixture of

hydrocarbons of this series is found in the gases enclosed in coal-dust. The determination

of the exact nature of the constituents of such a series cannot be made by analysis alone,

and it would be futile to push the calculations further.
RESULTS OF ANALYSTS.
Experiment I.—Gas obtained from the first extraction: a partial analysis showed it to

contain the following :—
Carbon dioxide ......... 15'2 per 100 volumes.
Oxygen ............ 1*79 „
Olefines CnH2n (absorbed by
sulphuric acid) ... ... ... 9"3 „
The complete analysis of the gas obtained from the second extraction yielded the following

results:—
Carbon dioxide ......... 13-71 per 100 volumes.
Olefines (CnH2n)......... 19-6
Oxygen ............ 1"32 ,,
Carbon monoxide (?) ... ... 139 „
Hydrocarbons of the paraffin
series, CnH2n + 2 ... ... 50*7 „
Nitrogen ... ... ... ... 13-2 „
99-92
From the results of the explosion of the mixture of CnH2n + 2 and nitrogen the following

were calculated:—1 volume of CnH2n + 2 gave 3'34 volumes contraction, 2*63 carbon dioxide,

and required 4*97 volumes of oxygen; from which the value of n was found to be 2*98 for

total contraction, and the same from oxygen used.
254 A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
Experiment II.—The analysis of the gas from the first extraction in the second experiment

gave the following results :—
Carbon dioxide ......... 153 volumes per 100.
Olefines CuH2n ......... 4*9 „
Oxygen ... ... ... ... 9-16 „
Carbon monoxide (?) ... ... 0-7 „
CnH2n + 2 ......... 25-76
Nitrogen ............ 44*28 ,.
100-10
To determine the nature of the hydrocarbon CnH2n + 2, the results of two explosions have

been calculated out and the mean taken, giving the following:—1 volume of CnH2n + 2 gave

2-8 volumes of contraction, 2'82 volumes of carbon dioxide, and required 4'24 volumes of

oxygen.
The value for n from the oxygen required is 2'49, and from the total contraction 2*42.
The gas obtained by a second extraction of the coal as already described, was found to have

the following composition:—
Carbon dioxide ... ... ... 14-78 volumes per 100.
Olefines (CnH n) ...... 16-18
Oxygen ... ... ... ... 0-43 ,,
Carbon monoxide... ... ... — „
CnH2n + 2............ 41-16
Nitrogen............ 27'43 „
99-98
1 volume of CnH2n + 2 was found to produce 2'21 volumes of carbon dioxide, 3*04 volumes of

contraction (total contraction of 5'2<)), and required 4*26 volumes of oxygen. The total

contraction gives a value of 2'5 for n, and the oxygen gives 2'54.
Experiment III.—The gases produced in the third experiment, under the conditions already

described, had the following composition :—
I. II. III. IV. V.
At ordinary
temperature. 50° 70° 70° 100°
Carbon dioxide ... 16*4 32"9 36"9 27-3

23'7
Olefines CnH2n ... 3'94 6-9 23-67

30
Oxygen ...... 18 T5 2-28 0-37

0-98
Carbon monoxide (?) 1'7 0'14 0-87 —

0-76
CnH2n + 2 ...... 1-96 26'5 29-8 38'4

28-6
Nitrogen ...... 77'2 35'4 232 102 164
98-56 100-38 99'95 99-94 100-44
A CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 255
In I. the value of n in the formula CnH2n+2 has not been determined, as the volume of gas

is extremely small, in II. the mean of two analyses gives n = 2\52, both for total

contraction and from oxygen used. In III. n was found from three analyses to be 3*08 from

oxygen used, and 3'1 from the total contraction. In IV. from two analyses n was found to be

2"92 from the oxygen and 2'93 from the total contraction, and in V. the value for n was

found to be 3'59 from the oxygen and 3*58 from the total contraction.
The above results indicate that the coal-dust experimented on contained enclosed gases

resembling in many respects those which have been obtained from coal. The main points of

difference to be noticed are, first, the large proportion of carbon dioxide, as compared

with the amounts found by von Meyer and Thomas, and also the presence of defines and higher

members of the paraffin series of hydrocarbons, which have been observed to exist by von

Meyer amongst the gases obtained from weathered coal and by Thomas from cannel coal and

jet. Assuming that the coal from which this dust was obtained enclosed gases similar to

those found by von Meyer and Thomas, besides those found in the dust itself, it would

appear probable that in the exposure of the fine particles of dust to the air the lighter

marsh gas has diffused away, leaving the heavier ones held by the particles of coal. The

removal of the greater portion of the marsh gas would enable one by the process of analysis

to identify higher members of this series, whereas the presence of large proportions of

this gas would to some extent obscure their existence.
It is intended to put the assumption upon which this conclusion is based to a direct test

by an actual series of experiments on the coal from which the dust is produced. The

conclusion is to some extent supported by the last experiment, in which the gases have been

gradually expelled, and from the results of which it will be noted that the proportion of

combustible gases increases with the temperature to which the coal is heated, and further

that in the case of the paraffins the value of n increases from 2*5 up to 3'5, showing that

the lighter gases come off first and the heavier ones require a prolonged heating. In fact

these results appear to indicate a method of fractionating such a mixture of gases, and the

possibility that amongst the gases enclosed in coal the paraffins are represented by the

compounds—methane (0H4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10).
The question naturally suggests itself, are the combustible constituents of the gases

enclosed in the dust in any way connected with the inflammability of a mixture of coal-dust

and air ? Whilst actual ex-
256 DISCUSSION—OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
perience has not only demonstrated the easy inflammability of a mixture of this particular

dust and air, and has in fact suggested these experiments ; still it would be premature at

this stage to draw any general conclusions as to the part which the gases enclosed in

coal-dust play in such phenomena. Yet it will be seen that among these gases some are

combustible, which are not simply marsh gas, and which require a much larger proportion of

oxygen for their combustion than marsh gas, consequently a much smaller volume of these

gases would be required to form an explosive mixture when mixed with air.
The author has thought proper to bring these results before the members of this Institute,

despite the fact that this series of experiments can only be considered as a preliminary

one, inasmuch as there would appear to be still an extensive field open for future enquiry,

which it is intended to continue, and by submitting coal-dusts of different sources to a

similar examination it is hoped that our knowledge of coal-dust may be advanced.
In conclusion, the author begs to express his indebtedness to Mr. Hall, who, as stated at

the commencement of the paper, first suggested the desirability of the investigation, and

would also take this opportunity of thanking Mr. Saville Shaw for the valuable aid and

assistance given in conducting these experiments.
Mr. A. L. Steavenson said that for many years there had been thrust upon him the conviction

that the great majority of explosions in the last thirty years in the North of England had

arisen from coal-dust, pure and simple. He went back thirty because this period included

the Hetton explosion. He quite agreed that that explosion began in the boiler flue ; but

there was an amount of damage done which rendered it very difficult to reconcile with the

theory of the explosion being entirely owing to gas in the boiler flue; but if they added

the effect of the explosion of coal-dust itself, to the gas in the boiler flue, it becomes

intelligible. As to the Seaham and Tudhoe explosions, and others also, he had no doubt that

the coal-dust alone would cause the explosion. Shots were fired at a particular time in the

morning, and simultaneously explosions took place. The shots were fired in places where it

would be perfectly absurd to think there would be gas sufficient, and to imagine that the

shot would fire the gas would be impossible. Professor Bedson had shown how coal-dust

itself might cause explosions. At all events the
DISCUSSION—OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 257
paper gave a clue to some part of the explosive character of coal-dust. They knew that the

Royal Commission discovered that dust, without any matter of an explosive kind at all,

would explode—very finely powdered magnesia was explosive. If they had coal-dust in such a

state as has been described, it was an explosive material. The theory in his mind was that

the shot itself started the explosion; and raised a portion of coal-dust to such a heat

that it gave off gas to continue the explosion. If, in addition to the gas they found

ordinarily in coal, they found also some gas in a condition likely to cause explosion in

dust, then it helped them to understand the explosion of coal-dust theory, pure and simple.
Mr. Walton Brown said, he was pleased to congratulate Professor Bedson on the results

obtained by his experiments upon the gases occluded from coal dust. He had long been of

opinion that ethane:and the higher members of the paraffin series should be found in more

or less considerable quantities, together with marsh gas, in coal mines. Most mining

engineers had considerable difficulty in accounting for the large volumes of inflammable

and other gases given off by coal in situ; and he suggested that they existed in a liquid

or solid form, combined with some of the extremely volatile liquid members of the paraffin

series. He had had this theory in his mind for many years, and he now considered that

Professor Bedson's discovery of the presence of these higher members of the paraffin series

in coal made it highly probable that marsh gas, together with smaller proportions of

ethane, propane, butane, and pentane, all of which were gases at a temperature above 86

degrees Fahrenheit, did exist in a solid or liquid form in combination with the higher

members of the same series. This combination under high pressures appears to be analogous

to the phenomenon of the solubility of gases in liquids.
The Hon. Mr. Parsons asked Professor Bedson if he had made any experiments to ascertain

what amount of gas was given off when a piece of coal was crushed—given off in the act of

crushing it ? It would be interesting to know this; because he understood that in the

measures underground there was a certain amount of crushing due to the weight of the

superincumbent layers of rock, and also when being hewed. They all knew that an immense

amount of gas was occluded; and it occurred to him that Professor Bedson might experiment

and ascertain what amount of gas was given off when coal was crushed.
Professor Bedson said he had not made experiments at all with coal, but merely in the form

of dust. The experiment suggested by the Hon. Mr. Parsons would be a most interesting one,

and might yield very important
258 DISCUSSION—OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
results; and when he came to make experiments on coal itself, he would be happy to make

such an experiment. As to the point Mr. Brown raised, they knew nothing at all about the

manner in which gas was enclosed in coal. It would seem most probable there would be

something similar to the solution of a gas in a liquid. The absorption of gases by charcoal

took place with great avidity; it would absorb a larger proportion of some gases than of

others; it would absorb ninety times or perhaps more than its own volume of ammonia, and a

somewhat smaller volume of sulphuretted hydrogen. It was possible and probable that in coal

there was held in solution, as it were, a mixture of these different hydrocarbons of the

marsh series.
The President—I understood you to say you have not determined the volume of gas in any of

the samples.
Professor Bedson—0 yes; the total volumes of the gases are in the tables.
The President—How does it compare with the volume of coal-dust ?
Professor Bedson—I think it is between three-tenths and six-tenths.
The President—That is a very small amount.
Professor Bedson—The volume of gas given by coals themselves is equally small.
The President said, Professor Bedson had mentioned the power of charcoal to absorb ammonia.

There was a most striking example in the power possessed by palladium to take up certain

gases; it was capable of taking up a larger proportion than anything yet spoken of. They

knew quite well that the relative quantity taken, up in solids was something enormous. As

to the explosion Mr. Steavenson had spoken of at Eppleton pit at Hetton, he (the President)

was invited by the late Mr. Nicholas Wood to enquire into that explosion. Certain effects

of it were so marked, and extended so far beyond, what he fancied at the time, the power of

the small quantity of gas in the flue to reach, that he held, and expressed at the time, an

opinion of doubt as to its being the sole cause of the tremendous destruction which took

place at the colliery. He gave evidence upon the occasion ; and was so distrustful of the

calculations he made at the time, that he took the opportunity of writing to Professor

Faraday, to ask whether, in his opinion, a quantity of gas which could be measured by a few

cubic yards could have produced the results which reached to three or four hundred yards

from the boiler itself, and which, he thought, produced the death of some individual at

that distance. The impression
DISCUSSION—OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST. 259
of Professor Faraday was that it was not beyond the range of possibility. When he (the

President) heard of the experiments with coal-dust, it struck him, as it had Mr.

Steavenson, that the coal-dust was, in all probability, more concerned in the results which

followed. He was glad that Professor Bedson had taken up such a very interesting

subject, and hoped at no distant time there would be a continuation of those researches.

They could not fail to be highly interesting to colliery viewers; and ought to be an

additional incentive, if such were wanting, to all gentlemen occupied in mining engineering

to study chemistry. It was quite clear this subject opened a great field for research

and interesting enquiry. He proposed a vote of thanks to Professor Bedson for the

admirable paper he had placed before the Institute. The vote of thanks was agreed to.
VOTE OF THANKS TO THE PRESIDENT.
Mr. (x. B. Forster said, that before they separated, he wished to propose a vote of thanks

to their retiring President, Sir Lowthian Bell. The name of Sir Lowthian Bell was so well

known in the scientific, engineering, and manufacturing world, that it was a source of

great satisfaction to the Council and the members of the Institute when he was elected

President two years ago. During his presidency there had been held the celebration of the

Queen's Jubilee, the visit of the Prince of Wales to Newcastle, and the great Exhibition

upon Newcastle Moor. To some extent the Institute was connected with these matters, and

especially the latter ; and it was a source of great gratification to know that the

Institute was represented by one so able as Sir Lowthian. They had been thankful to have

had such a President during the past two years. They had all seen the interest Sir Lowthian

had taken in their proceedings, and the able manner in which he had conducted their

proceedings. He proposed a vote of thanks to Sir Lowthian Bell.
Mr. John Daglish said, he had much pleasure in seconding the vote of thanks. He was sure it

had been a source of great satisfaction to all the members to have had Sir Lowthian Bell as

President, because of the high position he held in the scientific world and in connection

with other institutions. During the whole term of his presidency Sir Lowthian had given

most devoted attention to the interests of the Institute, not only by attending the

meetings, but in other ways; and there was no stronger instance of this than his going to

London for a single day to attend the
VOL. XXXVII.—1888.

* I
260 DISCUSSION—OUR KNOWLEDGE OF COAL-DUST.
meeting respecting the amalgamation of the various institutes in England. It must be a

satisfaction to all the members to look back upon the term of Sir Lowthian Bell's

presidency. The resolution was agreed to.
Sir Lowthian Bell said, his friend, Mr. Daglish, had spoken of the satisfaction with which

he (Mr. Dag-lish) would look back to the time he (Sir Lowfchian) had had the honour of

occupying the post of President of this Institute. He was sure that, however great Mr.

Daglish's satisfaction might be, it could not be equal to his own. Nothing had taken place

during the time he had had the honour of acting as their President which would make him

carry away recollections of the slightest regret on his part. He could assure them that he

undertook the office with considerable reluctance, for he held very strongly that the

gentleman who occupied the chair ought himself to be a mining engineer. There were many

subjects brought before the Institute upon which no one but a mining engineer could speak

with any authority. The members had, however, always been good enough to overlook his

deficiencies in this respect, so that he retired from the chair with a kind of supposition

that he had been a more competent mining engineer than he fancied he was at the beginning

of his term of office. He thanked the members for having afforded him an opportunity of

attending many pleasant meetings with them. He would look back upon the two years of his

presidency with feelings of the utmost satisfaction and pleasure to himself, and he would

be glad to continue to attend the meetings and benefit by the experience and knowledge of

those much better able to deal with many questions than himself. He again thanked all

most sincerely for their kindness.
The Secretary stated that Lady Alice Fitzwilliam had sent for the inspection of the members

the Fitzwilliam Ambulance, designed and patented by her ladyship. This was not a trade

business, because the profits from the patent will be given to assist the establishment of

a Miners' Superannuation Fund or to the Miners' Permanent Relief Fund. The meeting

concluded.
barometer and thermometer readings. 261
BAROMETER AND THERMOMETER READINGS
FOR 188 7.
By the SECRETARY.
These readings have been obtained from the observations of Kew and Glasgow, and will give a

very fair idea of the variations of temperature and atmospheric pressure in the intervening

country, in which most of the mining operations in this country are carried on.
The Kew barometer is 34 feet, and the Glasgow barometer 180 feet above the sea level. The

latter readings have been reduced to 32 feet above the sea level, by the addition of *150

of an inch to each reading, and both readings are reduced to 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
The fatal accidents have been obtained from the Inspectors' reports, and are printed across

the lines, showing the various readings. The name of the colliery at which the explosion

took place is given first, then the number of deaths, followed by the district in which it

happened.
At the request of the Council the exact readings at both Kew and Glasgow have been

published in figures. v
NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE
OF
MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.
ABSTRACTS OF FOREIGN PAPERS.
CUVELIER'S LOCK FOR SAFETY LAMPS.
Ministere des Travaux Publics. Direction des Routes, Navigation, et Mines. Division des

Mines. ler Bureau Nord. Fermetures de lamps de Mines. Systeme Cuvelier.
In the following circular the French Government has thought fit to lay aside its usual

reserve, and to instruct the Mines Inspectors to inform those interested that Cuvelier's

system has met with the approbation of the Mining Council:—
Paris, 28th April, 1887. To the Chief Inspector of Mines. Sie,—You told my predecessor, on

the 19th September last, that no trials of Cuvelier's lock for miners' safety lamps had

been made in the Department of the North, except at the Douchy collieries. But you referred

to a former report, that of the 25th January, 1886, for an account of the satisfactory

results of these trials. I think, with the Mining Council, that you should draw the

attention of the coal-owners, etc., of the North to the good results obtained from M.

Cuvelier's invention; and you should make them understand that they will henceforth be

responsible, in case of accident, should they place lamps with inefficient locks in the

hands of their workmen. I should be obliged if you would keep me informed of the results of

your intervention.
For. the Minister oe Public Works, The Director of Roads, Navigation, and Mines,
JUILLA1N.
Cuvelier's lock is described in the Transactions, Vol. XXXVL, pp. 51-54.
J. H. M.
THE NEWCASTLE EXHIBITION.
Note sutt' Esposizione di Netocastle-upon-Tyne. By E. Mezzena. ISIndustria, Vol. I.,

pp. 622, 623, 644-646. Two Woodcuts.
A general account of the Exhibition from an engineering point of view, with special

reference to some of the newer exhibits. A geological section from Blanchland to the

Cleveland Hills, showing the relative position of the salt and ironstone is given as a

woodcut.

G. A. L.
a
2
THE AMANDUS LODE OF THE MARIENBEEG SILVER MINE,
(SAXONY).
Der Amandvs Flache im Grvbenfelde der Marienberger Silberbergbau-Gesellschaft. Bin Beitrag

zur Tcentniss edler Silbererzgdnge. By R. Wengeer. Jahrbvch fur d. Berg- und Bliittemvesen

im Konigreich Sachsen, Jahrgang 1886, pp. 93-113, with two Plates.
The lode described is one of numerous ore-bearing veins which, with dykes of syenite and

mica-diorite, traverse the gneiss of Marienberg, in the Erzgebirge.. From 1836 to 1884 this

lode alone yielded £57,321 worth of silver. It is intersected by other lodes and by a thin

syenite dyke. Argentite and proustite are its most important ores, and these are

accompanied by arsenical, cobalt, and nickel minerals. In places xanthocone, argyropyrite,

acanthite, and other ores are found. Red and white heavy spar forms the principal vein

stuff, calcite and finor spar occurring more sparingly. Fragments of gneiss and syenite

are common in the vein. G. A. L.
THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF WESTERN LIGURIA.
Sttl carbonifero delta Liguria occidentale. By L. Mazztjoli. R. Comitalo geologico
d'ltalia, Bollettino, Vol. XVIII., pp. 6-27, with folding Plate.
The portion of Western Liguria described in this memoir comprises the high ground about

Mallare, Bormida, Osiglia, and Calizzano. The rocks of the region are much folded and in

most cases highly altered. They belong exclusively to the Permian and Carboniferous. The

former consist of quartzites, schists, and even gneiss, lying in troughs, between which the

subjacent Carboniferous deposits are exposed by denudation as inliers along the anticlinal

axes. These deposits comprise an upper calcareous division in the form of saccharoidal

marble, and a lower series of black indurated shales, grits, and conglomerates, of great

thickness. The base of this group is unknown. Beds of anthracite have been discovered in

several localities:—1.—At Pietra-tagliata, where, besides a number of insignificant seams,

two appear to be possibly workable. 2.—At Olauo a seam two or three feet thick has been

proved. 3.—At Balestrei a thick black bed, with traces of anthracite ordy. 4.—By the

Bertolotti stream, in the valley of Osiglia, two outcrops of anthracite have been found.

5.—By the village of S. Bernardo, near Osiglia, on the left bank of the Gallo stream, the

thickest seam of the district occurs (maximum thickness 3 feet 6 inches). The analysis of

this anthracite is as follows :—-
Fixed carbon ... ...... ... ... 7060
Ash ..................19-75
Volatile matter ......... = 9-65
_100J)0
6.—Seams are reported to have been struck near Refreddo and S. Bartolomeo, in the Calizzano

valley. 7.—Other outcrops are known at Greppini.
Many exploratory levels have been driven at all the above places; but in no case has a

colliery been established, though the author thinks this might be done on a small scale at

the two first mentioned localities.

G. A. L.
3
THE WALDENBURG COAL-FIELD.
Etude sur le Bassin Houiller de Waldenhurg (Basse-Silesie), By L. Rochet. Annates

des Mines, Ser. 8, Vol. X., pp. 221-253. One folding Plate.
This coal-field, in Lower Silesia, is situated to the south-west of Breslau, on the borders

of Bohemia; comprises the towns of Neurode, Charlottenbrunn, Waldenburg, Gottesberg,

Landeshut, Liebau; and extends to Trautenau and Schatzlar. It is in the form of an elliptic

basin, the long axis of which is of about 34 miles and the short one 20 miles. To this main

coal-field must be added a semi-detached portion 10 miles by 4 miles, which runs as far as

Glatz, at the foot of the Eulengebirge. The Carboniferous rocks crop out in the form of a

crescent on three sides of the ellipse, the southern and the whole of the central portion

being concealed by Permian and Cretaceous deposits. The oldest rocks of the district are

gneiss and mica schists, upon which lie Silurian and Devonian strata. Above the last-named

comes the Kulm, the lowest of the Carboniferous groups, and overlying this is the chief

coal-bearing series, divided into four divisions, viz. (in ascending order):—The Altwasser,

Waldenburg, Schadowitz, and Radowenz beds.
The Kulm contains some thin seams of anthratic coal, but they liave been so far

un-remunerative, though collieries to work them have been established near Rudelstadt,

Reussendorf, Krausendorf, Johnsdorf, and Salzbrunn. The Altwasser group coal-seams are

numerous, but inconstant, and of no great thickness. In places as many as thirty-two seams

are recognised. In the Waldenburg group there are not more than eighteen or twenty seams,

but they are continuous and thick, most of them being more than 2 feet 6 inches thick, and

some as much as 10 feet. Natural pits, apparently similar to those of Hainault, are common

in this division. They are of great depth, filled with sandstone, and form an obstacle to

mining known locally as " verdrilckungen." The Shadowitz and Radoweuz groups are the least

iirportant.
The following gives analyses and other information respecting the coals worked in the

principal collieries of the region :—
I CompositionperlOO. " Hygro- Coke Gas ~~
Names of Collieries. , Water

Per per ^aiorinc
0. H. lO+N. Ash. per 100. 100. 100. Power-
I A. B.

Altwasser Group. Morgen and Abendstern (Altwasser) .........75-32 4-56 1073 939

5"30 672 32-8 7'48 879
Seegen-Gottes (Altwasser) ... 79-09 4-87 10-17 5'87 4"55 65*1 349 8'35

...
Caesar (Reussendorf) ...82-20 5-14 10-05 2'61 475 66-8 33'2 8 46

...
Rudolf (Volpersdorf) ...79-64 478 9'98 560 5'00 65'2 34"8 8'39

...
Waldenbnrg Group.
Gluckhilf (Hermsdorf) ... 84-23 5"04 933 T40 3"04 67'9 32'1 8-29

10-04
Friedenshoffnung(Hermsdorf) 78-43 459 10-78 6"20 3'90 657 34"3 8"38 10-14
Fuchs (Weisstein) ......75 50\ 4-80 9'23 10-47 4'50 675 32"5 8-33 ...
Carl-Georg-Victor (Gottesberg) .........86'99 4-26 4"97 378 2-54

80-0 20"0 8"09 10-01
Graf-Hochberg(Waldenburg) 7M5 4"66 1P45 674 5-30 687 31-3 8'30 ...
Ruben (Kohlendorf) ... 79"32 4"38 7*01 9'29 3-01 73'9 26"1

7'66 973
Schatzlar Mines ......... j ...... 29-9 ......... 4-58 ...
The calorific power is estimated by the number of kilograms of steam obtained by the

combustion of one kilogram of coal on an ordinary horizontal grate (column A), or on a

gazogene grate (column B), the water feeding the boiler being at 0° C.
G. A. L.
4
THE COAL-FIELD OP AUZITS IN AVEYRON.
Note stir le Bassin houiller d'Auzits (Aveyron). By J. Bekgeron. Bulletin de la

Societe Oeologique de France, Ser. 3, Vol. XV., pp. 262-264.
This small coal-field is situated near the village of Auzits to the S.E. of Decazeville.

The coals, which are worked, occur in two groups of seams interbedded with some 300 or 400

feet of extremely felspathic grits, beneath which is a coarse conglomerate lying upon the

denuded edge of a series of sericite schists. These coal-bearing rocks, though belonging to

the Upper Carboniferous and containing such fossils as Sigillaria tessellata Brong.,

Neuropteris cordata Brong., Catamites Suckovii Brong., and Pecopteris Plucknettii Schloth.,

are said by the author to belong to an horizon lower than that of the Coal-Measures of

Campagnac and Bourran. No details regarding the coal-seams are given.

G. A. L.
BAUXITE.
Age de.-} Bauxites du Sud Est de la France. By L. Collot. Bulletin de la Societe

Oeologique de France, Ser. 3, Vol. XV., pp. 331-345. Four Figures in text.
The well-known refractory substance Bauxite occurs in several localities in the

Mediterranean Departments of South-Eastern Prance, from the extremity of the Herault to

about the middle of the Var. The stone varies very considerably in composition, as is well

shown by the following analyses of the three leading types:—
1. 2. 3.
Alumina ......... 7810 ... 43-20 ... —
Alumina and titanic acid ... — ... — ... 18
Sesquioxide of iron ...... 1-02 ... 7-25 ... 60
Silica ... ... ... ... — ... — ...

4
Silica and titanic acid ... 5*78 ... 34*40 ... —
Water............ 1510 ... 1515 ... —
Water and lime ... ... — ... — ...

18
(No. 1 is a friable and very aluminous type, from Villeveyrac. No. 2, a very siliceous

variety, from the same locality. Both this analysis and the last are by M. Moitessier. No.

3 is of the iron ore type, from Le Paradou; the analysis is by M. H. Sainte-Claire

Deville.)
The titanic acid when tested for separately, amounts to from 2 to 4 per cent, of the total.

Deville also detected vanadic acid (0-0009 in the Bauxite of Le Revest) and phosphoric acid

in small quantities, as well as a little corundum.
The exact stratigraphical position of the beds of Bauxite at the different localities has

long been matter of dispute among geologists. This is accounted for by the author, who

states that though the stone in the region to which in this paper he restricts himself is

everywhere of Gault and Aptian age, it yet lies unconformably upon all the different older

formations from the Rhajtic to the Urgonian, and is similarly overlain by all the higher

Cretaceous divisions in succession from the Cenomanian to the lacustrine Danian. This

important conclusion is illustrated by a correlation of the strata at St. Chinian,

Villeveyrac, Les Baux, Puyloubier, Ollieres, Le Val, Les Reynauds, Le Pous, Ste. Baume,

Allauch, and Le Revest. At the last-named place only is there no gap or unconformity in the

series.
At Percilhes in the Ariege some Bauxite is found between the Corallian and Urgonian, but

this locality is merely referred to incidentally, and does not come within the scope of M.

Collot's paper. G. A. L.
5
THE BUTTE MINING REGION, MONTANA.
Notes on the Geology of Butte, Montana. By S. P. Emmons. Transactions of the American

Institute of Mining Engineers (Advanced Sheets), read July, 1887, 14 pp.
This region forms part of the valley of the Silver Bow Creek, and comprises no sedimentary

deposits. Granite is the oldest and most important rock of the district and occurs in two

varieties. The other rocks, quartz-porphyry and rhyolite, are later eruptions. All the more

important ore deposits are in the granite and occur in two distinct zones, one being

essentially copper-bearing, the other silver-bearing and comparatively free from copper.

The Butte, Gagnon, Parrott, Anaconda, and Mountain View mines, and many others, are in the

first-named zones, and the chief ores worked in theui are bornite, copper glance, and other

sulphides in a siliceous gangue. More or less silver occurs associated with the copper. In

the other zone are the Alice, Moulton, Lexington, and other rich mines working sulphides of

silver, lead, zinc, and iron, also in a siliceous gangue, but in this case coloured pink by

a manganese silicate. At and near the surface the manganese minerals have been converted

into black oxides, the silver ores into chlorides, and the galena into cerussite. The

manganese minerals seem to be absent from the copper zone.
The lodes are generally parallel, both in direction and hade, the former being east and

west, and the latter vertical or nearly so. They are not always bounded by well-defined

walls, and the author concludes from his observations that it was more by replacement of

the country rock than by the infilling of gaping fissures that these accumulations of ore

were formed. They are only to a small extent to be regarded as "true fissure-veins."

G. A. L.
COAL IN CHINA.
The Kaiping Coal Mine, North China. By KwoiG Yung Kwang, revised by J. M. Sll/LIMAN.

Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers (Advanced Sheets), read July,

1887,14 pp. Eleven Figures in text.
This mine, often known as Tong Colliery, is situated about 80 miles north-east of Tientsin.

The coal-seams are seventeen in number and are of true Coal-Measure age. They occur

associated with sandstones, shales, indurated clay and fire-clay, the series overlying the

Carboniferous Limestone and being capped by New Red Sandstone. Particulars of the principal

coals are given in the following table:—
Seam. T1iick- fPeci£a, Ash. Coke. Moisture.

Sulphur. Iron. I Y?1?*116 :
ness. Gravity.

^ Matter, i
Ft. Ins. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per

Cent. ! Per Cent.
No. 2 2 2 1-32 8'0 6P84 0-56 029

147 29"60
„ 3 7 6 1-36 16-23 7225 0-30 075

... 2715
„ 5 5 6 1-29 4-54 73-02 0"65 0'97

... 26'33
„ 8 9 6
„ 9 15 0 1-35 1013 6462 010 1-86

... 2516
„ 10 15 0
„ 11 2 6
„ 12 35 0 1-35 7-15 62-85 0-47 0-986

1-61 i 29-53
„ 13 2 6
The dip is to the south and about 45 degrees in amount. Seams Nos. 9 and 10 unite into one

bed at a depth of about 400 feet from the surface. The daily output at the colliery is 950

tons. Details as to methods of working, wages, and market price of coal are given.

G. A. L.
6
ARGENTIFEROUS LEAD ORE IN SARDINIA.
(1) Notizie su alcuni giacimenti di piombo argentifero delict Sardegna. By A.
Bonacossa. L'Industria, Vol. L, pp. 494, 495.
(2) Note sulle miniere di piombo argentifero di Gennamari ed Ingurtosu (nella
Sardegna Circondario di IglesiasJ. By G. Gnech. L''Industria, Vol. I., pp. 575-578,

587, 588, 611, 612, 635-637.
The first paper is a general account of lead mining in Sardinia. The production of

argentiferous galena has for some considerable time averaged 45,000 tons yearly,

representing a sum of £280,000. This indeed is almost the entire mineral produce of the

island, and comes all but exclusively from the Arrondissement of Iglesias in a Silurian

district extending from north to south for about twelve miles from San Gavino to Iglesias,

and for the same distance in an east and west direction from the sea and the granite bosses

of Artus and near Domus Novas. The northern portion of this ore-district is formed of clay

slates. To the east these abut against the granite, and to the north they are covered by

patches of Secondary deposits, by masses of basalt, and by the modern alluvium of the

Campidano. To the west the rocks are concealed by the sea, and to the south they become

altered by the presence of intercalated beds of limestone. These last are not

ore-bearing.
A perfect net-work of rich veins occurs in the northern portion of the region. Most of the

lodes are still unworked and offer, according to Signer Bonacossa, a field for further

enterprise. The mines already established are:—
The Picalina Mine.
The Montevecchio Mine, hitherto the most important.
The Ingurtosu and Gennamari Mines, which are very fully described by Signor G. Gnech in the

second paper referred to above. G. A. L.
IRON ORE IN MISSISSIPPI.
A New Discovery of Carbonate Iron Ore at Enterprise, Miss. By Alfked F. Bratnerd.

Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, ^Advanced Sheets), read July,

1887, 4<pp.
An account of the discovery by Professor Lawrence C. Johnson of large deposits of carbonate

iron ore occurring in continuous layers extending for miles in the Claiborne formation

(Tertiary). The richest of these deposits are near Enterprise, Lauderdale County, and in

Clark County, Mississippi. The beds are there 10 to 18 feet thick, have a low dip to the

south-east, and can easily be won by surface workings. The average of eight analyses shows

36'55 per cent, of iron, 28'23 of silica, and 0"252 of phosphorus. The carbonate of lime

occurs in small shells, rendering the ore self-fluxing. An analysis of the iron yielded by

a mixture of one-half Red Mountain soft ore and one-tkalf Enterprise carbonate is as

follows:—
Total carbon ... ... ... ... ... 2'488
Silicon .................. 3549
Phosphorus ............... 0*717
Sulphur.................. 0-242
Manganese ............... 0'143
Iron (by difference) ... ... ... ... 92-861
100-000 Analyses of slag are also given.

G. A. L.
7
SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS AND GOLD IN 1886.
SudafriJcanische Diamanten- und Goldproduction im Jahre 1886. By E. Cohen. Neues Jahrbuch

fur Mineralogie, Geologie vnd Palaeontologie, Jahrgang 1887, Vol. II., pp. 81-83.
The diamond production in South Africa during the year 1886 was distributed as
follows:—
Money Value. District. Carats.

£
Kimberley ......... 889,864 883,503
Old de Beers......... 795,895 754,735
Du Toits Pan....... 700,302i 977,204
Bultfontein......... 661,339^ 645,806
St. Augustine....... 239^ 324
River Diggings ...... 38,673| 84,829
Orange Free State ...... 73,303f 124,088
Total carats 3,159,6171 worth £3,470,489
As regards gold the Transvaal produced from 1874 to 1884 a yearly average of £39,240; in

1885 the amount obtained was £69,543; and in the first ten months of 1886 it was £120,647.
The most remarkable new gold-fields recently discovered in South Africa are :— The De Kaap

gold-field, south-east of Lydenburg between the Crocodile and
Komarti Rivers. The Witwater gold-field, running east and west across the Transvaal along

the
shores of the Witwater. The gold here occurs in conglomerate. The Knysna-District

gold-field, in the south-east of Cape Colony.
G.A. L.
THE HUELGOAT MINES IN BRITTANY.
(1) Sur les Mines du Huelgoat et Poullaouen. By — Davy. Bulletin de la Societe
Geologique de France. Ser. 3, Vol. XIV., pp. 900-909. One Woodcut in text.
(2) Quelques notes sur les Mines du Huelgoat et de Poullaouen. By — Lttkis.
Same publication, pp. 909-913.
The mining district described in these papers is situated in the centre of the Department

of Finistere, and from 1750 to 1868, when they were abandoned, the lead mines worked there

were regarded as the most important in France. It is said that lead was worked there as

early as the time of Duchess Anne of Brittany, but the first fully recorded concession was

made in the reign of Louis XIII. The veins, which are numerous, occur in long narrow

troughs of very ancient Palaeozoic schists, enclosed and much altered by massive granite.

They run parallel to the strike of the country rock, and parallel also to certain

porphyritic dykes. The age of the veins is stated to be post-Carboniferous. In width they

vary from two to twelve feet, and though the amount of ore carried by them has been found

to vary considerably, they have been richest (1) where their hade approached nearest to the

vertical (the maximum being 80 degrees); (2) where the enclosing rock was moderately hard

(not where hardest); and (3) where they most nearly coincided with the planes of bedding.

White quartz is the principal vein stuff, and the following are the ores obtained:—
Silver.—Native, chloride, and bromide.
Lead.—Galena (argentiferous), plumbogummite (a rare hydro-aluminate of lead first found in

this district), cerussite, and pyromorphite.
8
Zinc Blende.
Copper.—Tetrahedrite, chalkopyrite.
Antimony.—Stibnite and feather-ore.
Some zeolites and other interesting minerals are also recorded from this rich mineral

locality.
The mines were laid off for want of pumping machinery sufficiently powerful to master the

water in the deep levels last worked. G. A.

L.
THE LAKE SUPERIOR MINING INDUSTRIES.
The Resources of the Lake Superior Region. By John Birkinbine. Transactions of the American

Institute of Mining Engineers (Advanced Sheets), read July, 1887, 36 pp., with folding Map.
A full statistical paper relating to the mineral produce of this region. Menominee Iron

Range.—The output in this district is given as follows:—
Gross Tons. Gross Tons.
1877 ...... 4,593 1879...... 245,672
1878 ...... 78,028 1880...... 524,737
1879 ...... 245,672 1882......1,135,018
1886...... 880,006 gross tons.
Of the total output (6,196,687 gross tons) 49'5 per cent, was from three mines (the Chapin,

Norway, and Vulcan mines).
Marquette Iron Range.—This district in 1882 reached a maximum output of 1,831,357 gross

tons, the total from 1854 to the end of 1886 being 23,346,819 gross tons. Of this total

64-2 per cent, was contributed by the Lake Superior, Cleveland, Jackson, Republic,

Champion, and New York mines.
Growth of the Iron-mining Industry.—The grand total output for the whole region up to the

end of 1886 was 31,061,011 gross tons. A detailed comparison between the yearly output from

1860 to 1886 of the Lake Superior iron mines and that of the Spanish Bilbao district is

given, and is summed up as follows :—
Bilbao District. Lake Superior District.
Gross Tons. Gross Tons.
Total ............28,575,872 ... 30,879,014
Yearly average......... 1,058,366 ... 1,143,667
Vermilion Iron Ore Mines.— The first real winning of the ore in the vicinity of Vermilion

Lake, in Minnesota, began in 1883. Already, in four years, over 850,000 gross tons of iron

ore have been got. Analyses of these ores, by Mr. Prince, are thus given:—
Iron ......... 67-99 ... 68-37 ... 68"32
Phosphorus ...... 0'053 ... 0'057 ... 0 046
Silica ......... 1-35 ... 1T0 ... 1-35
Alumina... ... ...undetermined.., 0-50 ... 025
Magnesia ... ... „ ... 0-014 ...

nil.
Sulphur........ 0-005 ... 0-007 ... nil.
Loss by ignition... ...undetermined... 0-56 ... 066
Gogebic Iron Ore Range.—In this district no actual exploitation can be considered as having

been made before 1885. The ores differ from those of the Vermilion range in being softer,

more easily mined, yielding less iron and less phosphorus, but carrying a greater

percentage of manganese and more moisture. Up to the end of 1886 the
9
total output was 877,069 gross tons, of which 757 per cent, was from the Colby, Norrie,

Aurora, and Ashland mines. Analyses of ore from the various mines are supplied.
Canadian Iron Ores.—A brief account of the " Ore Hill" deposit of magnetic ore is given.

This locality is about 100 miles from Fort William and 30 miles south-west of the Canadian

Pacific Railway where it crosses the river Seine. The ore is a high grade Bessemer, and

rises in the form of an iron hill to the height of 100 feet above the surrounding plain.

Analyses show the following percentages:—62'84 to 70'06 of iron, -005 to "035 of

phosphorus, 2'43 to 7"3 of silica, 0 to 1*8 of alumina, "04 of sulphur, 0 or a trace of

titanium oxide and manganese, and 0 to 1"4 of lime.
Copper.—In Michigan the total output to the close of 1886 was 444,286 tons.
Precious Metals.'—Workings for precious metals have been carried on in the Marquette

district, and unusually rich gold discoveries have been made there recently. The silver

deposits of Silver Islet, on the Canadian shore, and late silver finds at Thunder Bay are

merely referred to.

G. A. L.
AN EXPLOSION OF FIRE-DAMP.
Explosion von Schlagtvettem. X. Berg- und Hilttemndnnische Zeitung, Vol. XLVI.,
pp. 252, 253.
In the Domaner Mine, near Reschitza, in Hungary, an explosion lately occurred, which,

though causing the death of two men and wounding several others, was in other respects so

slight as to admit of some of its phenomena being observed. It was caused by the firing of

a shot by a miner in defiance of the rules of the mine. From the evidence of the survivors

it appeared that the gas was fired by the burning fuse before the latter had reached the

powder, and not by the shot itself. The explosion took its way down the passage in the face

of a strong current of air, and the fact that the boots of some of the men were burned

showed that much of the gas had lain close to the ground. Little or no damage was done to

the mine, and after-damp was scarcely appreciable. '

A. R. L.
PUMP SPEAR CONNECTIONS.
Ueber Gestange und ihre Verbindungen zum Betriebe von Schachtpumpen. H. L. Oeking.

Zeitschrift dcs Vereines deutscher Ingenieure, Vol. XXXI., pp. 765-769 and 795-800.

Illustrated in the text.
In the designing of pump spears the tensile strains have, as a rule, been taken as the

greatest, while those produced by bending have been disregarded. An examination of actual

conditions shows that the latter are in most cases the greater, and accounts for the fact

that the earlier types so often gave way unexpectedly at the joints.
Originally made of wood, pump spears were tried successively of box or cross-formed iron

section, of hollow iron tubes, of wrought iron rods, and lastly of cast steel rods. The

first to give moderate satisfaction were the wrought iron rods. These were made with square

ends and were coupled together by hollow iron cases into which they were fixed by keyed

fid-bolts. As pit shafts became deeper the weight of the spear arrangement grew into

greater consequence, and a reduction was effected by making the iron coupling cases in

halves, with rings shrunk on to hold them together, the spear ends inside the cases being

of increased section, drum-shaped, so as not to draw through. Various devices were also

employed to tighten up the joints by wedges through the cases between the spear lengths,

and to fix on the outer rings by bolts lying parallel with the spears. In some

arrangements the bands and bolts were discarded, and the
b
10
spear ends were keyed into the coupling cases, tightening wedges between the rod-ends being

relied on to keep the parts from falling asunder. With the introduction of steel other

forms came into notice. At first the wrought iron connections were reproduced in cast

steel, but witli indifferent success, and it was found better to use wrought steel round

bars with fine screws and nuts on their ends, these being held together by wrought iron or

steel coupling-cases as before.
A mathematical investigation of the various couplings shows that the strains on the hollow

iron cases in halves, as usually made, are very unequally distributed. Though much greater

in section than the spear rods, they are unable to stand the lateral bending to which they

are subject, by far the greatest strains being at the points of the semicircles at top and

bottom of the hollow cylinders. To remedy this inequality Messrs. Haniel and Lueg, of

Diisseldorf, have arranged a coupling of elliptical section, in halves as before, but cut

through the major axis where the metal is thickest. This may be made with or without the

addition of outer rings and bolts, but in each case it has been proved by elaborate

experiments and trials in actual work, that the elliptical form of coupling may be made

much lighter and still give better results than the older forms, being generally found to

stand better than the spear rods themselves.
A. II. L.
SERVIAN MINES.
tleber den serlischen Berghau. Gotting. Berg- und Huttenmdnnische Zeitung, Vol.

XLVL, pp. 251, 252.
Lignite and brown coal are found in abundance in the Balkan Peninsula, but the only known

coal-field is one situated in the valley of the Timok, near the Bulgarian boundary of

Servia. Its mines are under the control of a rich Belgian firm and promise very favourably.

The coal is found in the Jura formation, more especially in connection with the Lias, which

overlies the New Red Conglomerate, but only crops out to the day in lumps and streaks.
The surface of the Timok Valley is formed by a thick mass of chalk reaching as far as the

Danube, partially overlaid by Neogene beds, and in places broken through by trachyte,

granite, porphyry, and serpent stone. Triassic formations are very sparsely represented, as

are also the crystalline and Palaeozoic slates. The Eocene period is only represented by a

few small beds near the Danube.
The productive Lias seams lie at an angle of about 45 degrees. The coal, of somewhat

various quality, has a total thickness of from 20 feet to 42 feet, and is not much

disturbed by faults and troubles. It is clean and firm, having in some places a cokelike

appearance, while in others it shows a rectangular prismatic fracture, the only impurities

found being pebbledike lumps of iron pyrites.
The upper part of the seam is generally separated by a clay band, and contains the

before-mentioned lumps of iron pyrites.
The roof is of grey slate; the bottom of sandstone and slaty coal. Cross-drifts have shown

that there is no coal above the Main Seam; but below it, so far as the trials have gone,

several seams have been found of from 3 feet to 5 feet in thickness. The Main Seam has been

proved by two drifts of 270 fathoms and 220 fathoms length respectively, by boreholes and

by trial shafts, over an area of about 28 acres, representing a quantity of about 850,000

tons lying near the surface. The proportion of round coal obtainable is about 15 per cent.,

and the amount of ash produced in burning from 2 to 3 per cent.
Political considerations prevent the coal from finding its way to the near town of Widdin,

and most of it will be sent to the Danube by a line which is expected to be opened in the

course of a year. A. R.

L.
11
CLAY SCHISTS OF ITALY.
Sugli scisti argillosi della nuova galleria del Giovi. By E. Mattieolo. R. Comitato
Geologico d'Italia, 1887, Bolletlino, Vol. VIII., Ser. 2. pp. 65, 74.
An enquiry into the cause of the difficulties experienced in tunnelling the argillaceous

schists of the upper Eocene at Giovi, near Genoa.
Pour specimens of the rock from different parts of the excavation are subjected to chemical

and physical examination and experiment. It is described as an argillaceous schist,

carbonaceous and calcareous, with schistose cleavage, and sub-concoidal fracture. Composed

of very fine particles, it appears homogeneous even under a lens. Rare concretions, and

slender white veins of caicite, however, are noted in one of the specimens, and little

masses of bisulphide of iron in two.
Specific gravity of the four specimens is as follows:—No. 1, 2'75; No. 2, 2-84 j No.

3,2-74; No. 4, 278.
Chemical Analysis.
No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4
Silica ............... 489 48"4 54"4 51-8
Alumina ............ 14-9 15'2 16*7 16'5
Iron oxide ............ 8*3 8-0 47 6-8
Lime .............. 9*2 9-2 8'1 7"0
Magnesia ........... 34 37 24 30
Lost by fusion (CO.,, H20, C, and S) 11*2 12"9 11*4 10 7
Alkali and loss (by difference) ... 4-1 2"6 2*6 4-2
100-0 1000 100-0 100-0
Examined microscopically, the rock is found to contain quartz, particles probably of

felspar, caicite, carbonaceous and argillaceous substances, pyrites, microliths of rutiie

and apatite, minute lamellae of sesquioxide of Pe, an unrecognised mineral, and hydrated

silicate of Al. These minerals lie with their lengths parallel to the cleavage of the

schist.
Conclusion.—The damaging movement of the rock which constitutes the difficulty is due to a

swelling up of the materials of the same, caused by the hydration of the argillaceous or

marly part, and to the chemical changes in the pyrites arising from the infiltration of air

and water. G. W. B.
IRON ORES OP CENTRAL FRANCE.
Etude sur les Gisements de Mineral de fer du Centre de la France. By — DE Geossottyee.

Annates des Mines, Tome X., Ser. 8, 1886, pp. 311, 418. Two Plates.
A study of the mode of occurrence, nature, and origin of the iron ores of Central France,

especially of the ore in grains, of Tertiary age, occurring on and in the eroded limestone

of the Jurassic plains of the central plateau. Other ores are briefly indicated. This " ore

in grains " of Berry has been described as alluvial, as Jurassic, and is now recognised as

of Tertiary age.
The Tertiary of Berry in ascending order consists of:—
L— Clays, with flint.
2.—Clays, with iron ore in grains, and gypsum.
3.—Lacustrine limestone.
4.—Sands and clays of Sologne.
5.—Sands and clays of Bourbonnais.
12
In (1) occurs a farinaceous silica of following composition, used in manufacture of

dynamite:—
Alumina and traces of iron oxide ... ... ... 9"00
Silica ... .................. 15-00
Soluble silica ... ... ... ... ... ... 66'00
Loss ..................... 10-00
100-00
In (2) the ore is lodged in cavities. The clays in some pass to claystones, sometimes

containing sufficient iron to he worked as ores. In some parts ores of manganese are

worked, and in others gypsum. This formation forms a continuous zone upon all the north and

west border of the central plateau, from the valley of Allier to that of Dordogne, and,

discontinuous, fringes upon the same.
Clays and building stones are worked in several of the formations.
General Characters op the Ore.
Its occurrence is extremely irregular, in isolated masses of infinite variety in form and

dimensions. It is found in superficial masses in the cavities of the Jurassic limestone, in

funnels or ellipsoidal hollows; between the Jurassic and lacustrine limestones, in wedges,

regular beds, or elongated bands called veins; or, again, in irregular masses disseminated

in the clays.
Almost all are found upon the Jurassic platform, between the great cliff in the north of

the department of Cher formed by the lower chalk, and that in the south formed by

argillaceous beds of upper Lias.
According to their mode of occurrence these ore deposits are divided into:—
(a) Superficial lodgments in cavities of Jurassic limestone, with only a thin
covering.
(b) Lodgments entirely encased in limestone.
(c) Irregular masses in clay.
(a) Appear on surface, or with thin mantles of sandy mud with gravel.
In centre of pocket a plastic ochreous clay, veined with white, in which are impacted

grains of ore. This is called terrage. Towards borders of pocket the clay is impregnated

with lime, and passes gradually to crystalline limestone, with grains of ore much fewer

than in terrage. This is called roc tnineux, or castillard ; it is sometimes replaced by

sterile clay known as conroi. The walls of the cavities are corroded, and penetrated with

veins and smaller cavities. Narrow fissures prolong the cavities downwards. Their size

varies from a few to 50 or 65 feet, yielding many thousand cubic feet of terrage. The best

are found at Bois-Vert (commune de Saint-Just) and in a wood to north-west of Chateauneuf.

In large pockets the ore is concentrated in the lower part. Above the rich ore nests of the

same occur united to it by veins of the same nature. Pieces of crystallised limestone,

known as tetes, occur in the clay.
(J) Lenticular masses between Jurassic and lacustrine limestone. The basin of Dun-le-Iloi,

where the superficial covering has been removed, furnishes a good example. The ore rests on

an undulated and ravined surface, with numerous cavities. These, like the above pockets on

a small scale, are little funnels and basins, sometimes communicating with each other, and

have their walls degraded and fissured. Surface of beds pretty regular but they are

often interrupted by pillars of limestone.
13
Veins occur in the basins of Aubois, Chapelle, St. Florent, and Chanteloupe. These are

horizontal bands, irregular and sinuous, with transverse section, triangular or in form of

pointed arch. Their walls are undulating and indented, while they swell and diminish

frequently. Sometimes large and high chambers are formed, communicating by long and narrow

passages. Two mineral layers may occur, one above the other, separated by a band of

limestone ,• and the ore sometimes rises, forming high vertical columns encased in

limestone. Often the vein is prolonged upwards by a vertical cleft for 9 or 16 feet, while

a similar cleft prolongs it downwards. In one place the ore occurs in beds separated by

large pillars of limestone, but united by narrow passages.
(o) Ore found in nests and irregular masses in the clay, especially in lower part near the

limestone, where alone it is workable. The masses are connected by little veins forming a

complicated network in the clay. The lower deposits are little pockets, lenticular masses,

and lengthened trains. Sometimes the ore rises vertically across the clay, and connects

these lower parts with nests at a higher level.
The clay in which the ore of Berry occurs gives the following analysis:—
Silica .................. 68-60
Alumina .................. 13'60
Peroxide of iron ... ... ... ... ... , 3'60
Lime .................. 0-30
Magnesia ... ... ... ... ... ... 0'60
Alkali .................. traces.
Loss by calcination ... ... ... ... 12-60
The terrage yields on washing 40 to 60 per cent, of ore. The following is the analysis of

11 specimens of the ore in grains from the various localities mentioned :—
1. J 2. ' 3. 4. j 5. 6. j 7. 8. j 9.

10. 11.
Silica ......10-601 fU'60 11'401
\ 23-60 W30 30-00 { - 22'50 2000 I 32C0 34'50 25'00
Alumina......1210 J 12208 22'52j
Peroxide of Pe .. .. 5870 57'30 64'60 54t0 50 87 50 86 60-00

6E0O j 56'00 49'50 57'00
Lime ...... 1'20 — traces traces traces traces 2'00 traces j

traces ___ 3-80
Magnesia..............traces ----- traces traces ___ traces; traces

........
Sulphuric Acid........ traces 0'10 traces 0'40 0'32 0'25 0101

0 05 traces 0 06
Phosphoric Acid ...... O'SO 0'20 0'30 0'05 COS 0'40

0'20 0'20 040 traces
Lost by calcination .. 1510 I8 60 15 60 15 00 1500 14-60 1440

14-30 1160 15-50 13'50
Total .. .. 9770 93-80 99 80 99'90 10000 9978 99 55

99'CO 9985 99'90 99-36
1 from Chapelle-Saint-Ursin; 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 from St. Florent; 7 and 8 from Chanteloupe;

9 from Poisieux; 10 from Espinasse; 11 from Dun-le-Iloi.
Manganese and magnesia not estimated in No. 1.
The origin of these various deposits of ore is to be ascribed to overflows of mud connected

with volcanic phenomena, and to the play of mineral springs charged with iron, silica,

gypsum, etc. This theory is strengthened by the presence in the ore of traces of Zn, Pb,

and Cd, and the concentric form of the grains.
A list of the more important workings is given, with the annual output of some.
G. W. B.
14
SALT DEPOSITS OF VOLTERRA.
Lavorl d'esplorazione nel giacimento Salifero de Volierra. R. Comitate) Geologico

d'Italia, 1887, Bollettino, Vol. VIII., Ser. 2, pp. 137, 138.
Beneath the marine clays of the Pliocene, near Volterra, is found marl with chalk, from

whence come the celebrated alabasters. Below this again is a thick formation of pebbles

with lignite-bearing strata at base. This marl with chalk is Sarmatian, and the bed below

Tortonian. The salt beds occur in the former.
Numerous borings, carried out by the direction of Savi since 1852, show that the salt is

usually found in the lower portion of these chalk-bearing beds, which rest on dark

bituminous clay without fossils, chalk, or salt. The borings always stop at this bituminous

bed, and do not reach the Tortonian.
By judicious co-ordination of the data afforded by these borings, Savi was able to deduce

that the salt and chalk were not disposed in strata regular and continuous, but in

amygdaloidal masses of limited extension and varying number and thickness. He proposes that

instead of seeking the salt by means of various unconnected wells, as is the custom, there

should be a system of galleries connecting the more important and collecting the saline

water to a principal well, from which the extraction might be made. His plan has not been

adopted. A gallery, however, 650 feet long, has been constructed between the wells of S.

Guisto and S. Giovanni, and this confirms fully the succession, the form, and disposition

of the saliferous beds as deduced by Savi from
the borings.

Q4 \y, B,
¦
GEOLOGY OP MADAGASCAR.
(1) Una escursione al Madagascar. By E. Coetese. Notizie Diverse, R. Comitato
Geologico d'ltalia, 1887, Bollettino, Vol. VIII., Ser. 2, pp. 129, 134.
(2) Osservazioni geognostiche sul Madagascar. By E. Coetese. Kotizie Diverse,
R. Comitato Geologico d'ltalia. 1887. same publication, pp. 181-191.
Notes of a journey from Tamatava, on the east coast of Madagascar, to Antanan-ariva, the

capital, and from thence to Mojanga, in the north-west.
Among the various large blocks of diorite, granite, and syenite which occur is mentioned a

red variety of the latter, which would furnish a most beautiful stone for monumental work.
The granite of the region presents certain planes of fracture, taken advantage of by the

natives in quarrying the rock.
A fire is lighted on the exposed surface of the rock, about the size of the surface of the

block of stone required. Then it is wetted, and the fire rekindled. The action is aided by

beating with sticks. Thus treated the granite can be detached in blocks of required size.
Along a line of fracture, close to Antananariva, appear large veins of quartzite. In this

quartz the famed gold of Madagascar is said to occur. The geological structure of the

island does not admit the existence of Carboniferous strata, at least on all the eastern

slope and in the central high plain of Imeria. Following the river Mamo-komita, from

Ainpotaka to the north-west, the great gold-bearing region of Madagascar is reached. The

recks consist of syenites with albite, amphibolites, diorites, amphibolic and micaceous

gneiss, granite, pegmatite, and quartz in veins. In many places these are much

disintegrated, and like alluvium; the presence of veins of quartz, however, show that it is

weathered rock in situ. Similar series of rocks recognised at Mangasoavina (valley of

Mamokomita) and at Mavatanana (confluence of Nahauronjy with Ikopa).
15
By reason of faults they are also found in some other parts of the island. The gold is

found in the quartz veins, in the diorite, and the amphibolic gneiss, in the form of

grains, a greenish powder, and in spangles. Sands of rivers in the locality are auriferous.
A grain of gold weighing 385 grains is spoken in the history of the gold of Madagascar; but

it has remained alone, and its very existence is doubtful. Many of the rocks require to be

moistened to show the presence of the precious metal. Of the river sand, 10 cubic feet

contain at most 15 grains of gold. In some little streams a yield of nine or ten times this

amount is to be found, but perhaps not more than 50 cubic feet of sand occurs along its

course. Other streams, however, have not been explored. The great inclination of the rock

(45 degrees to 55 degrees), the extreme subdivision of the metal, and the uncertainty of

the continuance even of this, render it difficult to say whether it could be worked with

advantage. The rock would have to be pulverised, and the metal extracted by the system of

amalgamation. The inaptitude of the natives for hard and continuous labour would add to the

difficulty.
These rocks should probably be referred to Cambrian, although the gneiss and granite may

pass to the Laurentian. In the white sand of the Pliocene gold is not found. In the red

Quarternary sand it occurs in small quantities.
A deposit of combustible lignite occurs in the upper part of Kalamiloka. Date probably

Pliocene.
Basaltic banks are covered with clay containing iron, probably an ore of the metal.
G. W. B.
ITALIAN PEAT.
L'anjiteatro Morenico de Rivoli. By Db. FedeEICO Sacco. R. Comitato Geologico d'ltalia,

1887, Bollettino, Vol. Till., Ser. 2, pp. 141, 180, with Geological Map.
A description of the rocks of the district of Rivoli. The framework of the basin is formed

of old rocks—probably pre-Silurian. They consist of gneiss, grauite, limestone,

mica-schist, serpentine eufotide, and cherzolite.
In the neighbourhood of S. Giovanni the mica-schists are worked for slates.
In the eufotides which exist on the eastern folds of Mount Musine are magnesian deposits,

which have been utilised for a long time.
Among the recent rocks are various deposits of peat and peaty earth. The chief are those of

Trana and Avigliana. At this latter place it has been entirely worked out. At Trana it is

now excavated, and likely to be soon exhausted. Greyish marl of lacustrine origin occurs,

covered by 6^ to 16 feet of peat.
The following is a chemical analysis of the different qualities of this peat :—
t • *,(. t> i Compact Very Compact Compressed
In natural state— LigJit Peat. Black Peat. Black Peat.

Black Peat.
Water......... 44"190 ... 38T00 ... 32-410 ... 26'890
Volatile matter...... 36-443 ... 36-087 ... 36'228 ...

38-382
Coke ......... 16-436 ... 20-891 ... 21-223 ... 22-408
Ash ......... 2-930 ... 4-921 ... 10-138 ... 12-319
Calorific power ... 2118 2'416 2'599

2'687
Dried—
Volatile matter...... 65-300 ... 58-300 ... 53-600 ... 52-500
Coke ......... 29-450 ... 33750 ... 31-400 ... 30-650
Ash ......... 5-250 ... 7-950 ... 15'000 ...

16-850
Calorific power...... 3"783 ... 3'903 ... 3"845 ...

3'676
Utilisable calorific power 1-836 2172 2'391

2515
16
Chemical Analysis of Ash.
Silica and argile insoluble in HC1 ... ... ... 37'61
Silica soluble in HC1 ... ... ... ... ... 0-85
Ferrous acid ... ... ... ... ... ... 5'30
Ferric acid .................. 10-22
Alumina ... ... ... ... ... ... 700
Lime ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24'61
Magnesia ... ... ... ... ... ... 1*40
Sulphuric acid... ... ... ... ... ... 3'04
Traces of HC1. K20, Na2(), and loss ...... 0'61
Carbonic acid ... ... ... ... ... ... 9'3G
G. W. B.
NEW USES OP BOREHOLES.
The Colliery Engineer, Vol. VIII., pp. 49-52, with several Sketches.
Boreholes are now used to some extent as rope, steam, and water ways in the anthracite coal

districts of Pennsylvania.
At Shenandoah city colliery boreholes have been very successfully employed. In 1883 it was

arranged to develop new workings by means of an inclined drift, commencing at a point 6,700

feet from the mouth of the mine. It was decided that the hauling engines and boilers should

be placed upon the surface. As no shafts existed at this point, boreholes were started from

the surface upon the centre line of the new inclined drift or slope.
The machinery used for drilling the holes was similar to that used in the oil regions
^ for sinking oil wells. An eight inch hole was bored, cutting
the top split of Mammoth Vein at 144 feet, and the bottom
split at a depth of 244 feet. This hole was lined with a
5§-inch casing, and the space between the casing and the
$ rock was filled in with cement, a being the position of the
^ hauling rope, h being the sides of the casing, o being the
c b a b c » '

oo
cement-filled space, and d the sides of the borehole.
A hole 6 inches diameter was drilled to the same workings; two lines of 2-inch gas pipes

were inserted from the surface to the top split, and two similar lines of pipes from the

surface to the bottom split; the interstices being filled with cement. These pipe lines are

used as speaking tubes and for bell wires to enginemen on the surface.
Another 8-inch hole was drilled from the surface to the top split, at a distance of 6 feet

west of the hole to the bottom split. This was intended as a rope way for a new slope to be

made in the top split.
The new slope in the bottom split is now down 230 yards, and there is an exploring drift

for a further distance of 107 yards. This slope is fitted up with single road, the wagons

being hauled from the dip by means of the rope which passes to the surface through the

first-mentioned borehole. Suitable sheaves are placed at the top and bottom of the hole, to

guide the rope. The hauling engine upon the surface has a pair of 10-inch cylinders and

18-inch stroke, with a 5 feet drum. The engines are now drawing 150 wagons of coal per day

up the slope.
The second borehole is used as a rope way to the top split.
An 8-inch drill hole, 78 feet deep, and lined with 4-inch casing, is in use at Schuy-kill

Colliery. Two boreholes, each 8 inches diameter, cased and cemented, and 763 feet deep, are

used at East Franklin Colliery. These holes are 7 feet apart and used to pass the ropes

employed in hauling along a slope laid with double road. A similar borehole is employed as

a rope way at the Nanticoke Colliery of the Susquehanna Coal Co.
17
Similar holes have also been successfully in operation as steam pipe ways and water ways.

At Lincoln Colliery an 8-inch hole, 140 feet deep, is used to convey steam to an

underground pump through a 4^-inch pipe. This hole is not cased, as no water was found in

it. At Meadowbrook Colliery a 12-inch hole, cased with 8-inch pipe and cemented, is used as

a pump column from an underground pump, and an 8-iuch hole, with a 5f-inch casing and

cemented, is used as a passage way for a 5-inch steam pipe line to the pump and to a pair

of hauling engines inside the mine. The last hole was very wet, and the casing was inserted

to protect the steam pipe and also to prevent loss by condensation.
At the Clear Spring Coal Co.'s colliery a 6-inch hole was drilled 270 feet, and a line of

4|-inch steam pipes inserted. This hole was not cased, and although only about ^ inch

stream of water flowed down the hole, the loss of steam was so great that a pressure of 120

lbs. only realised 40 lbs. at the bottom of the hole. Afterwards a 3-inch steam pipe was

placed inside, and the space between the rock and the steam pipe cemented, and the pressure

of the steam was the same at the surface and at the bottom of the hole.

M. W. B.
NOTES ON CHINESE COALS.
By John C. F. Randolph. Transactions of American Institute of Mining Engineers,
Vol. XV., pp. 110-114.
Notes of coals in Central China on the Yang-tse-Kiang river, between Wu-hu and Hankow.

These coals are found in slates overlying limestones and sandstones, and are probably of

Lower Carboniferous formation. The first six refer to a series of seams lying in a basin

about 20 miles square, of which the town of Che-chow-fu may be taken as the centre. They

all lie a few miles south of the Yang-tse, and several of them are now being mined:—
1.—Mun-to-san.—Situated one mile south of the Yang-tse and two miles from Lao-po-kee. This

seam is 6 to 8 feet thick, and mined by two shafts and one slope drift. At one mine the

seam dips 25 degrees to north-west, and at the two others 25 degrees to north-east. The

floor is of grey sandstone and the roof of black splintery slate. The coal is soft and

produces much small, and is chiefly sold to small Chinese tugs plying on the river.
2.—See-mah-poo. -Situated 18 miles from Mun-to-san and nine miles north-east from

Yeti-kah-woy. The seam is 4 feet thick in slates, and dips 20 degrees to south ; it is very

black and soft.
3.— Woo-shen-tung.—Situated about one mile south-west of Yen-kah-woy, in slates, and dips

45 degrees to east. A shaft sunk here a few years ago passed through a number of seams of

coal.
4.— Chin-san.-—Situated 18 miles south of Yen-kah-woy. The coal-seam varies from 6 to 8

feet in thickness; it is very hard, and dips 40 degrees to north-east. It was worked

formerly by a shallow pit.
5.—Tse-lung-chung.—Situated two miles south of Chin-san and 20 miles from Yen-kah-woy.

The seam is from 2 to 3 feet thick, and dips 40 degrees to north-east.
6.—Kun-chok-wan.—Situated 14 miles east of Tse-lung-chung, on the top of a mountain. The

seam is from 6 to 8 feet thick, and hard, with a dip of 25 degrees to north.
The above coals are all semi-anthracite.
Another series of coals is found farther west on the Yang-tse, near Hankow:—>
0
18
7.—Ho-peck-Tsung-ho, No. 1.—Largely used by merchant steamers on the Yang-tse. 8.—Tsung-ho,

No. 2. 9.—Hoo-nan.—A hard black anthracite. 10.—Hankow.—An anthracite, and a neighbouring

seam to Hoo-nan.
Analyses. No- KJy. Colour of Ash. Ooke. Moisture and _~~
Volatile rlTmi Ash-
Combustible. ^art,on-
Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent.
1 1-71 White ... None ... 19 71

10
2 174 White ... None ... 11 80 9
3 1-78 White ... None ... 13 47"5

39-5
4 1-72 White ... None ... 13 73

14
5 1-70 Grey ... None ... 13'5 73-3

13-2
6 1-71 Grey ... None ... 16-5 725

11"0
7 ... Dark brown 72 28 63-8

8-2
8 ... Grey ... None ... 9 74

17
9 ... White ... None ... 10"8 84"2

5 10 ... Grey ... None ... 11 84

5
M. W. B.
SPIRAL-SIEVE COAL SCREENS.
Kohlenseparationen nack dem Principe des Spiralsiebes. Adolph Schmitt-Man-derbach. Berg-

und Hilttenmaennische Zeitung, Vol. XLVI., pp. 351-354. One Plate.
The drums of the older cylindrical coal sieves were costly, required frequent repair, and

were hard to drive. The spiral screens are arranged with a number of concentric wire

sieves, with meshes corresponding to the sizes of coals required. Between successive sieves

thin iron spouts are arranged spirally, with sufficient fall to cause the coal to run out

at the end of the drum into fixed channels leading to the loading places. The newer

machines are easily driven, can be put up in about one day. and allow of auxiliary screens

being introduced at will. Their work is assisted by blows from a wooden hammer, or by jerks

given by a mechanical arrangement of hooks and springs. The coal may be poured into and

conveyed from the drum at heights of about a yard and a half below, and a yard above, its

axis respectively, so that tubs and wagons may be worked from the same height of platform.
At the Sylvester Colliery, near Dux, in Bohemia, a spiral screen was set up to replace one

of the older cylindrical machines. The old arrangement, which required a motive power of

from 8 to 10 horses, and often broke down, could separate about 40 wagons of coal in 20

hours with a 14 per cent, proportion of duff, and necessitated awkward arrangements for

loading.
The new machine, with a duty of 70 wagons per day of 20 hours, needs only about 1

horse-power to drive it, and is much more convenient for the work. The axis of the drum is

at the level of the flat sheets, and the turning power is transmitted by shafting from the

engine-house.
The coal is first kipped over an inclined screen with rods 3^ inches apart, and what falls

through is raised again by a bucket-ladder and delivered into one end of the innermost

sieve, which is made slightly conical so as to ensure the coal's distributing itself

towards the farther end. The drum is 6 feet 7 inches long and 7 feet 8 inches in diameter.
19
The sieves, from the middle outwards, have meshes of about 2, li, f, -^> an(* i inches

respectively. The middle one delivers at its wider end into a transporting band which

forwards the coal to its place of storage; the second and third deliver into spouts ; the

fourth falls into a store-room below the machine; and the finest kind, which is unsaleable,

slides into and is carried off by a sort of spiral screw.
The speed of working is six turns per minute.
The amount of duff, compared with that from the older machine, is reduced by from 5 to 7

per cent., representing a saving of about £5 per day.
The coal at the Sylvester Colliery is the wet and brittle Bohemian brown coal.
At the Bernissart Mine, near Pernwelz, in Belgium, a similar arrangement is at work. The

drum in this case is 4 feet 1 inch long and 7 feet 6 inches in diameter, and consists of

four sieves of about 1-&, 1, f, and \ inch mesh respectively. It works at the rate of eight

turns per minute, and separates 300 tons of coal during six hours' work. As in the former

case, the mixed coals are first passed over a fixed screen, with bars about 1-& inches

apart. The coal from this mine is very soft, and when it was separated by other kinds of

screen the loss from breakage was at least 6 per cent, greater. The saving on this

account amounts to about £10 per day.
A. R. L.
WIRE ROPE HANGING WAGONWAY AT GOTTESSEGEN MINE.
Drahtseilbahn und Kohlenrelterei auf Gottessegengrube bei Antonienhtiette, 0.8. 0. Sachs.

Zeitschrift des Vereines deutscher Ingenieure, pp. 965-970. Two Plates ; Illustrations in

the text.
The mines of Gottessegen and Hugozwang, near Antonienhuette, in Upper Silesia, both

belonging to the same owners, were connected with the Morgenroth Station on the main line,

the one by a 3f-mile broad gauge wagonway, the other by a 4-mile narrow gauge tubway. At

the Aschenborn Shaft of the Gottessegen Mine there are extensive arrangements for screening

the coals, and it was desired to transport to them the coals drawn from the Menzel Shaft of

the other mine by some economical and durable arrangement. The intervening country is

hilly, a village lies in the direct line, and the natural expedient of a wagonway, besides

causing diffiulties of ground rent, had the disadvantage that it would become snowed up in

winter. A hanging wagonway on the Otto system was adopted. Shear-leg shaped steel posts,

with crossbars on the top, are spaced about 38 yards apart. The outer ends of the bars are

joined by parallel steel wire ropes in such a manner that the double wheels of the hanging

tubs will pass over them.
The wagonway is made in two straight stretches, with a station at the angle which they form

with one another, the tubs being here transferred by hand from the one stretch to the

other. The whole distance is 2,900 yards, the steepest gradient being 1 in 11-8.
An engine of from 18 to 20 horse-power at the Aschenborn Shaft sets in motion an endless

steel wire rope, to which both full and empty tubs are clamped at intervals of about 42

yards.
The two larger sizes of coal are separated from the rest at the Menzel Shaft, and the three

kinds are loaded at once into the hanging tubs. On reaching the Aschenborn Shaft they are

loaded direct, the first two into the railway wagons, and the third into the separating

screens.
20
The fixed ropes are made fast at each pit shaft, and are kept taut by heavy weights at the

halfway corner station. The endless ropes are driven from the Aschenborn Pit. They are

worked round sheaves at the corner station, and kept in tension by a hanging weight of

about I4 tons at the Menzel end.
The hanging tubs are of steel and hold about 10 cwts. each. With a speed of 5 feet per

second the amount transported is 700 tons in 10 hours.
The cost of working of the new arrangement proved less than was anticipated. Including the

wages of 11 people and the fuel and stores consumed it amounted to about 22s. per day.

Besides the foregoing, about 12 to 15 women are now required for loading and unloading,

against 66 women, 2 watchmen, and 2 horses under the earlier arrangement. The total

saving to the owners is about £10 per day.
A. R. L
SILVER ORE DEPOSITS.
Beitrag zur Characteristik der Erzlagerstaetten. Robert Wimmee. Berg- und

Httettenmaennische Zeitung. Vol. XLVI., pp. 423,424. Illustrated in the text.
The recent sinking of the Olive Branch Shaft in previously unbroken ground, near Leadville,

in California, throws some fresh light on the question of silver ore formations, which has

been discussed in the above journal before. The substances met with, in their order from

above, were 94 feet of glacial debris, 218 feet of grey porphyry, 2 feet of black shale, 40

feet of white porphyry, 18 feet of grey chalky slate mixed with dark shale and

silver-bearing iron pyrites, 5 feet of compact solid dolomite, and 20 feet more of the same

substance in the form of clean running sand, which was sunk through with great difficulty.

Here veins of iron, nests and fragments of brown ironstone, gave indications of the

proximity of ore, which was shortly found at a depth of 397 feet. First came 14 feet of

hard flinty brown ironstone, containing from 4 to 35 oz. of silver per ton, of which the

lower 6 to 8 feet could be profitably worked. Then came a wedge-shaped bed, from 4 to 6

feet thick, of coarse flinty dolomite with streaks of iron, through which ran a deposit of

very rich ore. Below the dolomite came first a bed of half-transformed iron pyrites, then

about 10 feet of untransformed silver-bearing iron pyrites mixed with sulphate of zinc and

arsenical pyrites, which again overlay a bed of flinty slate. Part of the latter contains

silver in profitable quantity. Below this came iron pyrites again, in which the shaft

terminated.
The profitable ores form a zone of about 17 feet in depth, and contain an average of 52 oz.

of silver per ton. The silver-bearing stratum proper is a bed of dolomite, occurring just

between beds of ironstone and iron pyrites, and seems to have been originally traversed by

water-courses and similar cavernous passages. These have gradually become lined by deposits

of silver, whether of thermal origin or produced through lateral secretion from the

porphyry. In the loose sand are found lumps of spongy silver, containing about 25,000 oz.

of pure metal to the ton, and sometimes hollow or containing clay within. The water-courses

are generally filled loosely with similar spongy masses of silver, silver-covered lumps of

ironstone, sand, etc.
The ore-bearing stratum in the Olive Branch Shaft is for the greater part a metamorphosed

seam of dolomite, of which the dolomite sand, met with in sinking the shaft, once formed a

part, as also the iron pyrites and the manganese lead, silver and zinc ores, the upper part

of these sulphur-bearing ores having been metamorphosed into the manganese and pure

silver-bearing brown ironstone by the action of carbonic acid water coming down from the

surface. An accumulation of silver-bearing solutions deposited their wealth in the dolomite

caverns, and thus produced the very rich veins now being worked.

A. R. L.
21
NEW COKE OVENS.
Dr. Tli. v. Bauer's BogensoJil-Kotcsofen fur beliebig zu fractionirenden Betrieb. De. B.

Kosmann. Berg- und LTuttenmcennische Zeitung, Vol. XLVI., pp. 379, 380. One Plate.
Dr. v. Bauer has lately improved upon a design made by him some two years ago for coke

ovens, and his system is being introduced in the " Creusot" works, in France. Three kinds

of oven are arranged for coals containing different proportions of gas, which, however,

differ little from each other in principle.
The coking chambers, 12, 24, and 30 in number respectively, are arranged in circles with

flues for heating by gas between, below, and behind them, fed from an inner circle of gas

and air chambers ranged round a central chamber open to the air below, in which the gas

from the burning coals and that returning from the process of condensation are allowed to

collect. This latter is of cylindrical shape, with gridiron-like openings in its upper half

to the surrounding gas and air chambers. From these the gases mixed with air rising from

below pass through corresponding openings into the flues, whence, after being coursed round

the coke chambers they escape into the chimney.
In the two smaller arrangements each group of ovens has its chimney in the centre; but for

the 30-oven furnaces a large chimney receives the waste gases from several groups. The coke

chambers have the form of half the letter U, the furnace door being at the point of section

of the letter below, and they are made shallow and broad, or deep and narrow, according as

the coal contains much or little gas. Each group of ovens is so arranged that single ones

may be shut off while the rest remain at work, and also so that the bye-products of tar,

ammonia, etc., can be worked or not, as may be found convenient. In one instance coals,

which before would hardly coke at all, were found to produce excellent coke and

bye-products in addition, which themselves paid the cost of working.

A. R. L.
CONTROL-APPARATUS FOR WINDING ENGINES.
Controlapparat fiir Fordermaschinen. J. Speenger. Berg- und Eiiettennicen-nische

Zeitung, Vol, XLVI., pp. 433-435, 445-447. One Plate.
An apparatus has been invented by Herr J. Weidtmann, of Dortmund, for showing the brakesman

of a colliery winding engine at any given moment the speed of winding and position of the

cages in the shaft, and which at the same time records graphically the alternate pauses and

periods of work and the various speeds of winding during the day's work. The apparatus

consists of a 5 ft. by 2 ft. 6 ins. by 2 ft. 6 ins. iron box, containing the machinery, and

above this in succession a clock, a sector-shaped dial and pointer showing the speed of

winding, and a circular dial with two pointers showing the positions of the cages in the

shaft. It is placed just in front of the brakesman's seat.
A light horizontal shaft is fixed to the crank shaft of the main engine, and conveys by a

worm thread and vertical shaft behind the case a slow motion to the pointers on the

cage-position dial, and by wheel and pinion gearing a quick motion to an inside vertical

shaft which works the control machinery. On the centre vertical shaft is a contrivance like

an ordinary governor, with two suspended heavy balls which rise and fall as the speed

increases or diminishes, the extra upward tendency due to their own
d
22
inertia being controlled and regulated by springs. This rising and falling motion is

communicated by gearing to a long pointer which shows on the sector-dial above mentioned

the speed of winding in metres per second, and at the same time to a pencil working on a

control disc in the upper part of the case. The disc, about 24 inches in diameter by 4

inches in thickness, is turned by a small shaft from the clock above. The indicating

pencil, working vertically on its periphery on a strip of drawing paper and moving up and

down at right angles to the motion of the disc, gives a graphic record of the whole day's

work of the engine as to time worked, stoppages, and speed at different times. This last is

of importance in Germany, as the maximum speed of working, while drawing men, is there

fixed by law, being about 13 feet per second. It also affords very valuable evidenoe as to

the carefulness and general reliability of
the brakesman. A bell fixed behind the clock gives warning of the cage's approach to
bank in the usual manner.
The apparatus shows itself especially useful in any case of accident in the shaft, as
it enables the brakesman to see at a glauce the positions of the cages, the speed of
winding, and the time of day, and indeed records the last two on the control disc.
The makers are Messrs. Dingier, Karcher, & Co., of St. Johann on the Saar, and
the cost of the apparatus is about £80.

A. R. L.
EXPLOSION IN A GRAIN WAREHOUSE AT HAMELN.
Die Explosion in der neuen Wesermiihle zu Hameln. C. Aendt. Zeitschrift des Vereines

deutscher Ingenieure, Vol. XXXI., pp. 1,044-1,049. Illustrated in the text.
Cases are on record in England and America of explosions in corn warehouses, but previously

to the disaster at the Weser Mill, at Hameln, in November last, they were unknown in

Germany. The building was of semi-quadrangular form, with the court facing the westward, a

corn mill forming the central portion, and the northern wing containing a corn warehouse, a

large staircase, and rooms for cleaning the corn and for other like purposes. The warehouse

occupying the outer half of the wing had spaces below and above, containing the

band-transport machinery. The warehouse itself was divided by wooden boarding into eight

large cells, the two central ones only being nearly full at the time of the accident. The

workman, whose broken safety-lamp caused the accident, was at work in the basement and

escaped with his life. From the subsequent inquiry it appeared that the corn dust was set

on fire at about the middle of the space below the warehouse. The building being massive,

and made, as far as possible, fire-proof, the fire must have extended along the basement,

up the corn-elevator, and along the band above the cells until it reached the two middle

ones. A terrific explosion then occurred about 20 seconds after the corn at the bottom of

the elevator first took fire. The massive walls of the building were shattered or blown

down along the whole wing, and ten lives were lost. An examination of the ruins proves that

the explosion took place, not in the empty cells, which were full of inflammable dust, but

in the upper part of the two full cells.
Herr Arndt considers that the exploding substance could not have been the dust, as it would

then have made its presence felt sooner and in another part of the building, and throws out

the suggestion that it consisted of some kind of gas, hitherto unnoticed, arising out of

the corn itself. A.

R. L.
23
COAL MINING IN NORTH CHINA.
JBy Kwokg Yung Kwang. The Engineering and Mining Journal (New YorkJ, Vol. XL1V, pp. 220,

221, 238. Two plates.
There are seventeen seams of coal, with a dip to the south of about 45 degrees, which are

interstratified with sandstone, shale, and fire-clay. Nine of the seams are workable,

beginning from the uppermost, as follows :—No. 2, 2 feet 2 inches ; No. 3, 7* feet; No. 5,

5J feet; No. 8, 9| feet; No. 9, 15 feet; No. 10, 15 feet; No. 11, 2* feet; No. 12, 35 feet;

and No. 13. 2* feet.
There are two shafts, about 100 feet apart, the downcast being 560 feet and the upcast

being 300 feet in depth, and are walled with limestone throughout. Levels are driven to cut

the various seams as under:—
No. 1 level cross-cuts the seams from No. 1 to 15, inclusive, at a depth of 200 feet. No. 2

level cross-cuts the seams from No. 1 to 13, inclusive, at a depth of 300 feet. No. 3 level

cross-cuts the seams from No. 1 to 12, inclusive, at a depth of 560 feet.
Methods of Working.—These levels are driven north to cut the seams, and when any seam is

reached it is followed along the strike east and west, winzes are driven to the upper level

for ventilation at intervals of 50 feet, and a ventilation cross-head is driven at 20 feet.

A pillar of coal, as soon as three are formed, is then removed, beginning at the lower

level, and a stook is left next the upper level. The details of working a pillar are as

follow :—Coal boxes, 2 feet square and 8 feet long, are put up from the bottom of No. 2

level to the ventilation cross-head for sending out the coal, and ladders 12 feet long are

put in to communicate with No. 1 level. Bridge rails are laid from the ladder-way to the

adjacent winze, used as a stone shoot. The miners begin at the stone shoot and work towards

the ladder-way. Props of 6-inch pine are placed close to the coal and 4 feet apart as the

cutting face advances. The space left by the removal of the coal is filled by the packers

with dead stuff of soil, clay, and stone sent down from the surface to No. 1 level in

proper tubs which open at the sides. The coal is loaded into willow baskets and placed on

small trams, which are run to the coal shoot. Slice after slice is thus removed in

ascending order. The coal shoots are constructed by building two pack-walls about 3 feet

apart and covering with 3-inch plank. The coal is reduced almost to dust in these shoots,

but the natives are said to prefer it in this form. Self-acting inclines are used where

lump coal is required.
The same method is applied to the working of the 35-feet seam, which is divided into five

slices parallel to the stratification, and worked off successively upwards, like as many

distinct seams of 7 feet in thickness. The average cost of packing is about 2d. per ton.
In the thin coal-seams the longwall method is adopted.
"With the packing system very little timber is required and the surface is uninjured.
Haulage— Mules and ponies are used, each animal pulling about eight tubs of coal. It is

probable that the main and tail-rope will be adopted when the advance of the workings

renders the use of such mechanical means necessary.
Ventilation.—-The mine is ventilated by a 30-feet Guibal fan, running 30 revolutions per

minute and producing 120,000 cubic feet of air, under a water gauge "6 inch. Candles and

open lamps are used in all seams except No. 5, where safety-lamps only are allowed. A dust

explosion occurred in this seam three years ago by which three men were killed and several

others injured.
Workmen.—The workmen belong to the lower classes. They are searched as they leave the mine

(stealing being considered to be a virtue) and are severely punished when detected.
24
The daily wages are as follows :—
Interpreters to foreign over- j Door boys ... ... ...

6£d.
men .........lOd. Switch boys.........6*d.
Pony and mule drivers ... lOd. Drain boys ... ... ...

6£d.
Sinkers .........lOd. Drum boys.........6id.
Masons ... ... ... lOd. Cantonese boatswains or
Enginemen.........lOd. pumpmen......... 2s.
Coal miners ... ... ... 7id. Chinese pit deputies ...

2s.
Output.—The daily output is 950 tons in two shifts of eight hours each. Prices.—The prices

are:—
Lump ... ... ... ... 6 taels = 35s. Od.
Nut ............ 4 „ - 23s. 4d.
Dust ............ 3 „ = 17s. 6d.
M. W. B.
WINDING ROPES AND THEIR COST IN GERMANY.
Ueber Schacht-Fbrderseile und Seilkosten. By — Wenderoth. Zeitschrift fur das Berg-,

Hutten- und Salinen-Wesen im Preussischen Staate ; 1882, pp. 77-80; 1886, pp. 308-314.
Official statistics have been compiled in Germany as to the rones used in the chief coal

mining districts, in Dortmund since 1872, in Saarbruck since 1877, and in Breslau since

1882.
I.—The statistics for the years 1877-80 are derived from the following ropes :—
n7 j. t> Dortmund. Saarbruok.
J< (at Hopes— No. of Ropes. No. of Hopes.
Steel ......... 87 27
Iron ......... 18 20
Aloe ......... 19 6
— 124 — 53
Pound Popes—
Steel ......... 388 42
Iron ......... 210 191
----- 598 -----233
722 286
The cost during the same period being:—
Dortmund. Saarbruck.
Work Drawn, Cost of i Work Drawn, Cost of
Cost of in Millions Ropes per Cost of in Millions Ropes per
Ropes. of Kilogram- Ton Kilo- Ropes. | of Kilogram- Ton Kilometres,

metre. metres. metre.
Flat Ropes— £ d. £

d.
Steel ......j 10,007 1,782,232 1-350 1,222 120,443

2434
Iron ......! 1.185 171,124 1-662 799 132,483

1'447
Aloe ......I 3,097 1.337,250 '556 366 39,427

2-231
Pound Popes—
Steel ......! 25,578 9,221,403 '666 2,672 686,735

-933
Iron ......| 6,570 2,632,815 "598 6,356 2,647,937

"575
J________________________________
25
The broken ropes during the same years were :—
Dortmund. Saarbruck.
Year. Per Cent.

Per Cent.
1877 ......... 8-98 ...... 796
1878 ... ...... 9-40 ...... 1-80
1879 ......... 5-23 ...... 6-89
1880 ......... 4-70 ...... 3-13
The following table shows the average life and work of winding ropes of all

descriptions:—
Dortmund. Saarbruck.
Year. Period nf Average Work ¦p„rinA „f Average Work Period

oi Drawn per Eope> | Period 01 Drawn per Rope,
IhDotb in Millions of I ln^_fl, in Millions of mJJays.

Kilogrammetres. I ln ¦uays' Kilogrammetres.
1877 ...... 535 23,787 444 10,888
1878 ...... 554 26.956 429 12,099
1879 ...... 539 28,971 538 14,363
1880 ...... 577 36,879 535 14,034
II.—The statistics for the years 1881-84 apply to the following ropes:—
_, Dortmund. Saarbruck.

Breslau.
Jb tat Popes— No. of Ropes. No. of Ropes. No. of Ropes.
Steei ...... 95 45 16
Iron ...... 11 15
Aloe ...... 12 3
Hemp ...... — 4 —
-----118 -----67 -----16
Pound Popes—
Steel ......500 126 152
Iron ......118 78 58
-----618 -----204 -----210
736 271 226
The cost during the same period being:—
Dortmund. Saarbruck.

Breslau.
00*0* Millions *££ Ooatof MilHons *fc Ooatof MilHons p|g__
¦aasr £fc *ar- ^ _ ]sr «&
Flat Popes— £ d. £

d. £ d.
Steel 12.352 2,606,072 1-137 3,771 601,389 1-505 998

256,552 -934
Iron 692 137.831 1204 547 102,861 1-278

.........
Aloe ... 2,371 1,110,240 -512 163 35,727 1-095

.........
Hemp ...... ... ..• 162 9,690 4-009

......
Pound Popes—
Steel 41,68619.531,124 512 10,279 2,700,713 "913 7,092

2,928,637 -581
Iron ... 5,521 3^586,390 '369 3,344 1,524,285 '526 1.137

1,168,811 -233
_______

___________________________________________________________________________________________

_________J
26
The ropes removed from use were employed in winding; from the following; depths:—

_
°___________________________________________Ropes removed
Districts.-------------- j ;

employed for
Under Of 101 Of 201 Of 301 Of 401 Of 501 Winding Men.
100 to 200 to 300 to 400 to 500 to 600 Totals. Metres. Metres.

Metres. Metres. Metres. Metres.
Per Ct. Per Ct. Per Ct. Per Ct. Per Ct. Per Ct. Per

Cent.
Dortmund ... -4 12"6 47*6 277 ll'O '7 100

93
Saarbruck ... 41 32-1 365 137 66 7'0 100

69
Breslau ... 218 74-3 4*4 ......... 100 52
The broken ropes during the same years were :—
Dortmund. Saarbruck. Breslau.
Year. Per Cent. Per Cent.

Per Cent.
1881 ...... 4-85 ... 476 ... (?)
1882 ...... 773 ... 3-85 ... 8"63
1883 ...... 4-27 ... None. ... 676
1884 ...... 3-16 ... 3-17 ... 5-38
The annexed table shows the average life and work of winding ropes of all descriptions :—
Dortmund. Saarbruck. Breslau.
Average Work Average Work Average Work
T~- Period of »™er Period of »%£>« Period of *gj**
metres. metres.

metres.
1881 540 34,194 456 15,994 (?)

(?)
1882 533 39,182 581 19,091 492

25,242
1883 427 34,698 488 18,038 568

18,516
1884 490 38,105 429 20,149 472

16,071
M. W. B.
EXPLOSIONS OF FIRE-DAMP IN FRANCE.
Analyse synoptique des Rapports officiels sur les Accidents de Grisou en France from 1817

to 1884. Annates des Mines, 1882, Vol. I., p. 293; Vol. II, p. 393; 1883, Vol. II., pp. 67

and 116; 1884, Vol. II., p. 73 j 1885, Vol. II., pp. 195 and 433; 1886, Vol. I., p. 31,

Vol. II., p. 11; 1886, Vol. II., p. 521 j Annales de I'Industrie Minerale, 1885.
This work is a detailed analysis of the circumstances of the explosions of fire-damp in

mines in France from 1817 to 1884, 808 in number, of which 304 were fatal, causing the

death of 1,520 and injury to 1,374 persons. The accidents occurred in 115 concessions, and

are divided as follow :—
Accidents.
Mines of coal ............... 797
„ lignite ... ... ... ... ... 3
„ bituminous shale ... ... ... ... 4
„ lead ore ... ... ... ... ... 3
,, iron ore ... ... ... ... ... 1
808 %
27
Table showing the Monthly and Daily Occurrence of Explosions of Fire-damp.
__ ,, . France. Belgium.

Prussia. Saxony.
Month of— No. PerCent. Per Cent. Per Cent.

Per Cent.
January ... 60 ... 7*8 ... 7*0 ... 8'5 ...

7'6
February ... 74 ... 9'6 ... 73 ... 8'6 ... 7.6
March...... 69 ... 9-0 ... 121 ... 10-8 ... 8-9
April ...... 73 ... 9-5 ... 10-9 ... 6*9 ... 7"6
May ...... 55 ... 7*2 ... 9"0 ... 7*3 ... 68
June ...... 59 ... 77 ... G"8 ... 7'2 ... 97
July ...... 64 ... 8-3 ... 9-5 ... 7'8 ... U'9
August ... 71 ... 9-3 ... 9-0 ... 7-8 ... 97
September ... 53 ... 6-9 ... 7'5 ... 8-0 ... 10'2
October ... 65 ... 8*5 ... 5'8 ... 93 ...

4-2
November ... 55 ... 7'2 ... 73 ... 7*6 ... 6"8
December ... 69 ... 9'0 ... 7'8 ... 10-2 ... 8'9

Days of the Week—
Monday ... 144 ... 190 ... 97 ... 207 ... 33"5*
Tuesday ... 103 ... 13'6 ... 13'9 ... 173 ... (?)
Wednesday ... 100 .., 13'2 ... 20"0 ... 14'3 ... (?)
Thursday ... 117 ... 15-5 ... 17'4 ... 16*3 ... (?)
Friday...... 125 ... 16'6 ... 16-4 ... 14-5 ... (?)
Saturday ... 113 ... 15-0 ... 15*4 ... 14'1 ... (?)
Sunday ... 54 ... 71 ... 8-2 ... 2*8 ...

8"9f
Table of Fatal Accidents according: to the Number of Persons Killed.
France. Belgium. Prussia. Saxony.
Accidents---------------------------------------------¦----------------------•

¦---------------------------------------------
Accidents. Killed. £g£ Killed. £«£ Killed. £«*. Kmed-
„ Per „ Per Per Per Per Per

Per Per
JN0- Cent. ao- Cent. Cent. Cent. Cent. Cent. Cent.

Cent.
1 killed......150 49'2 150 9-9 39"8 4"9 59-2 23"6 65"4

10-0
2 to 5 killed ... 107 35"2 323 21-2 32'8 115 352 38"9

26"4 92 6 to 10 „ ... 20 6-6 157 103 10-0 10*1

3"2 10'2 25 32
11 to 20 ., ... 12 4-0 175 117 6-0 10-5 1-2 6'8

1*6 38
21 to 50 „ ... 12 4-0 370 24-3 7"8 294 -9 10-9

1-6 4'8
More than 50 killed 3 l'O 345 226 I 3*6 33-6 -3 9'6

2-5 69"0
____________________________________________.________________!_____________________________

______________________
Table showing the Causes of the Ignition of the Fire-damp.
-vr 7 v i • 7 j • France.

Belgium. Prussia. Saxony.
Naked lights in use— PerCent. PerCent. PerCent.

PerCent.
Naked lights ......... 52"9 ... 227 ... 46"2 ... 975
Furnaces for ventilation ... ... — ... 5-l ... -3 ...

—
Fires ............ 17 ... '5 ... — ... —
Safety-lamps in use—
Open ............ 15-2 ... 21-5 ... 13-2 ... 11
Damaged............ 5-4 ... 130 ... 57 ... —
Red-hot gauze ......... 3*5 ... — ... 83 .. 11
Passed flame by speed of air ... 3"4 ... 2*4 ... 2-l ...

-3
„ ,, sharp movement 8*6 ... 27 ... 11*2 ... —
Poioder ............ 143 ... 32-1. ... 18'0 ... —
* Includes the day after holidays. t Includes holidays.
28
Table showing- the Cause of the Issue or Accumulation of the Fire-damp.
Issue of na?__ France.

Belgium. Prussia. Saxony.
±ssue oj gas Per Cent Per

Cent per Cent per Q^
Sudden.................. 6*4 ... 13-4 ... 16'7 ... 13-5
Slow and continuous—
(a) Under scaffolds, behind doors, or goaf... 2'5 ... 4'6 ... -9

... -4
(b) In workings ............72'9 ...67-5 ...68-6 ... 78'0
Ventilation defective—¦
(a) Generally—
Derangement of fan ......... 1-4 ... 6'6 ... 4"5 .. -4
Natural causes ... ... ... ... 2-3 ... 1*2 ... __

-8
Casual derangement ... ... ... 4-l ... — ... 1-2

... •&
(b) Locally—
Falls ............... 7-2 ... 2-6 ... 5"8 ... 4-1
Doors left open............ 3#2 ... 4"1 ... 2*3 ... 20
Table of Accidents showing the Negligence of the Persons employed.
Error? or nenlpct nf— T,Fra£oel Prussia.

Saxony.
errors or negtecv oj Per 0ent Per 0ent Per

Q^
Mine owner—
Infraction of law ... ... 31 ... — ...

3-7
Want of organisation ... ... 3"1 ... — ...

__
Overmen, etc. ......... 14-3 ... 12-0 ... 3P7
Workmen other than those iniured 4-1 ... 5-21
Workmen injured......... 75"4 ... 82'8/
M. W. B.
IMPROVEMENTS IN SHOT-FIRING.
Amelioration du Tirage des Mines. By P.-F. Chalon. Le Genie Civil, Vol. XL, pp.

254-255, 328-329, 381-382.
The greatest danger in firing shots in fiery parts of mines is not so much due to the

explosion of the shot as in the mode of igniting it.
Bickford's safety fuse is very old, yet there are many mines where the straw is still in

use. There are frequent miss-fires where straws are used to ignite the shot, and it is

especially dangerous because it does not always allow the workmen time to reach a position

of safety. Lastly, in every case the powder in igniting throws a flame or a shower of

sparks which may cause an explosion of an inflammable mixture of air and fire-damp if the

latter suddenly issues near the shot-hole.
The use of fuse is a notable improvement, but it is far from perfect and has many

disadvantages. The common white fuse is used for economy. The gutta-percha fuse costs more

and is preferred where complete safety is desired. (The relative costs are as 4 to 1.)
Safety fuse burns at the rate of about 32 inches per minute, but this rule has,

unfortunately, exceptions, it sometimes happens that the ignition hangs at certain points

from various causes (contraction, foreign matter, want of powder, etc.) Sometimes a drop of

grease upon the covering will check the fire for some hours.
To ignite the fuse the miner opens the end into two or four parts for a length of about one

inch, and places in it a piece of tinder, touch, a match, etc. To fire the tinder the miner

uses a wire, or draws the flame of his lamp against the side by means of a straw, or

sometimes he opens his safety-lamp. In whatever way the fuse may be ignited there are

always a few dangerous moments. Whilst the fuse is taking fire sparks are produced for an

instant, sometimes followed by a small jet of flame.
29
In the preparation and firing of a shot there is always risk of accidents during (a)

stemming, (b) ignition, and (c) explosion of the charge.
According to the Prussian Fire-damp Commission, the use of powder, granulated or

compressed, should be prohibited in fiery mines, or replaced by dynamite and other high

explosives. This remedies the third class of danger, because dynamite and similar

explosives do not throw out (lame in ignition; there is only a brief incandescence produced

by the scorification of the absorbent matter, or by the heating and decomposition of the

nitrates, carburets, or sulphurets which form the absorbent,
Mr. Settles proposes to cool the gases resulting from the ignition of a shot of powder or

dynamite and prevent them igniting gaseous mixtures by the use of the water cartridge.
Stemming.—The stemming of shots is a frequent cause of miss-fires and accidents. Sometimes

the detonator, the cap, the charge, or the fuse ignites, sometimes the fuse is broken or

compressed, sometimes the shot is fast and the stemming is blown out. These accidents may

be avoided if stemming is abolished.
Numerous experiments have been made in the gypsum quarries near Paris as follows :—
Shot-holes were prepared for ordinary blasting and were charged with the usual quantity of

powder; then, instead of stemming them, a wooden plug, G to 8 inches long (pierced with a

hole for the fuse), was placed in the outer end of the hole. The shots were fired by

electricity, or by a small paper tube containing 4 inches of Ruggieri fuse. A Scola cap

ignited this fuse, which shot to the end of the hole and fired the charge. This system was

abandoned as the gas escaped between the sides of the hole and the plug before ignition was

completed, and a part of the power was wasted in blowing out the plug like a projectile.
In the next experiments the plug was replaced by a handful of soft clay so as to

hermetically seal the mouth of the hole. This was very successful and was repeated with

similar results ; the quantity of rock brought down was considerable and in each case the

amount of unburnt powder was much less. In the first experiment, with a hole 61 feet long,

and a plug of clay 5 inches long, 720 cubic feet of stone were broken up by means of 2"1

pounds of powder. In a second hole, 4£ feet long, 525 cubic feet were dislodged by 1*5

pounds of powder. In a third hole, charged with 2"9 pounds of powder and 5| feet long, from

1,000 to 1,050 cubic feet of stone were dislodged. The mean of the series of experiments

showed about 350 cubic feet of stone per pound of powder. Under ordinary conditions only

200 cubic feet of stone is obtained per pound of powder. If 250 cubic feet be taken (after

allowing for miss-fires, etc.), there is still a saving over stemming of about 25 per cent.
In later experiments the length of the plug of clay was reduced from 5 inches to li or 2

inches. It is possible that similar results might have been obtained if the hole had been

hermetically covered by a sheet of paper.
The advantages of the system of suppressing the stemming are:—(«) Saving of labour; (b)

economy of material, the powder being more completely burnt; (c) a better produce ; and (d)

the suppression of accidents during the stemming.
The practical application of the system is :—The charge having been placed at the end of

the hole in the ordinary way, with a fuse or electric firers, the opening is closed as

hermetically as possible by a ball of clay from 2 to 3 inches long. It is most essential

that this plug should be unfissured and adhere closely to the sides of the hole, so that

the gaseous products cannot escape before the complete ignition of the powder. Cement may

be used instead of the clay.
Ignition of the Shot.—Electric shot-firers are recommended, and more especially
the " exploseur-vericateur," which tests the caps as well as firing them.
M. W. B.
e
30
IGNITION OF SHOTS IN FIERY MINES.
Allumage des coups de mine dans les Mines Grisouteuses. By — Mortier. Comptes-Bendus

Mensuels des Reunions de la Societe de I'Industrie Miner-ale, 1887, p. 99. Plate XVI.
This invention obviates the use of a match and the jets of flame which are produced at the

end of the fuse during the first moments of ignition. The principle applied in the new

system is the ignition of powder in the presence of sodium and water. The cap consists

of a small piece of sodium encased in a covering of india-rubber, and inserted at the end

of a small capsule. When required for use the cap is placed upon the end of the fuse,

the globule of sodium is pierced by a triangular rod, and immediately placed in a closed

case half-full of water. The cost of a cap will be as follows:—
Pence. Capsule ... ... ... ... ... '150
Sodium, \ grain ... ... ... ... '004
India-rubber ... ... ... ... ... '005
Workmanship ... ... ... ... '020
Total ............. '179
M. W. B.
SAFETY CATCHES FOR INCLINED PLANES.
Arret de Bennes pour Plans inclines. By — Rameait. Comptes-Bendus Mensuels des Beunions de

la Societe de I'Industrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 97 and 98. Plate XVI.
Arret de Bennes pour Voies, Bampes et Plans inclines. By — Mortier. Ibid., pp. 98 and

99. Plate XVI.
Mr. Rameau's catch consists of a bent lever with two unequal arms, placed flat on the

ground and turning round a vertical axis situate about its middle. It is placed parallel to

the way and at such a distance that at least one of the ends always bars it, and having the

short arm next the side of the inclined plane. The empty tub on its arrival at the top

passes forwards, and its front wheel touches the long arm after the hind wheel has passed

the short arm. The apparatus then bars the way. For the next run of the incline the

attendant pushing the full tub upon the same way is checked by the bent arm and must push

it back with his foot in order to allow the tub to pass. One of these safety catches is

placed upon each road. The apparatus is very cheap, simple, and effective. It bars the way

after the passage of the tubs; when closed it must be pushed open by the attendant; it

cannot be wedged open or shut; it is easily worked; it always permits the passage of empty

tubs upwards; and never prevents the free movements of horses or workmen.
Mr. Mortier's safety catch consists of an axle with attached levers, laying in the axis of

the way and supported upon the sleepers. In the two extreme positions of the axle one of

the levers allows the passage of the tub axles and the other stops them. In the middle

position both levers prevent the passage of a tub. The catch is worked automatically by the

empty tubs passing upwards. This is effected by making a slope of the external edge of each

lever and the levers are thrown over by the axles of the tub. This catch cannot be put out

of order either wilfully or by neglect. A pedal is attached to work the appliance and to

allow full tubs to pass downwards.
M. W. B.
31
THE PHOSPHATES OF THE SOMME (FRANCE).
Note sur les Phosphates de la Somme. By Paul Levy. Memoires et Compte Bendu des Travaux de

la Societe des Ingenieurs Civils, 1887, Vol. II, pp. 184 to 190.
The existence of phosphates in the Somme was pointed out by M. de Mercey about 25 years

ago, but the deposits were not actually discovered at Beauval until recently by M. Merle.

He sent a sample of it to be analysed and on its value becoming known numerous

speculators bought up large areas of the deposit. The price rapidly

increased, as much as £30,000 being paid for less than four acres which were

previously worth no more than £1,000.
The surface is generally level at Beauval, but the chalk covered by recent deposits is

deeply ravined and the phosphate sand is found deposited in irregularly distributed

pockets. These pockets are usually shaped like inverted cones with an upper diameter of

six or seven yards and containing from 50 to 500 cubic yards of the phosphate sand. The

phosphate of the first bed is slightly yellowish and is of the poorest quality; it

contains 50 to 60 per cent, with traces of iron. Below this it is richer and contains

from 70 to 80 per cent, of tribasic phosphate of lime, and is very similar in

appearance to the seeds of figs. The internal surface of the pockets is polished like

that of many natural pits, showing that they may have been formed by the slow solution of

the chalk by a corrosive liquid (water charged with carbonic acid). These cavities are

always filled with deposits in the following order:—Soil, clay, gravel, phosphates, chalk,

and sometimes phosphates below it. The rocks at Beauval belong to the last stage of the

Secondary period and are characterised by Belemnitella quadrata.
The phosphate is a yellow powder with smooth touch; under the microscope it appears like

millet seed whose surface has been corroded by some dissolving fluid. The mean of

several analyses is :—
Per Cent. Phosphate of lime... ... ... ... ... ...

73'5
Carbonate of lime... ... ... ... ... ... 7 to 9
Oxide of iron ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 to 1
Alumina ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

-04
Sulphate of lime.................. 1*25
Water .....................17 to 25
It is dried and screened to prepare it for market. The price varies with the percentage of

phosphate of lime, 70 per cent, being worth 58s. per ton, and 80 per cent. 80s. per ton.

M. W. B.
BASIC SLAG AS MANURE.
Phosphates Metallurglaues du Creusot. By — Sejournet. Comptes-Bendus
Mensuels des Beunions de la Societe de I'Industrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 86-88.
It is hoped that favourable results will be obtained by the use of the basic slag produced

at Creusot, containing 12 to 16 per cent, of phosphoric acid, associated with 45 per cent,

of lime and 5 to 6 per cent, of magnesia.
It will be most applicable to acid or turfy soils, newly cleared ground, clayey soils, and

granitic and siliceous soils. It should be sprinkled or sown upon the soil broadcast, or

better by a drill, and harrowed.
In the case of meadows and vineyards it is best to mix the phosphates with ashes or line

soil which facilitates its incorporation into the soil. From 16 to 20 cwts. should be

applied per acre. M.

W. B.
32
PORTABLE SER VENTILATING FAN.
Ventilateur portatif Ser. By — Mathet. Comptes-Rendus Mensuels des Reunions de la

Societe de VIndustrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 88 and 89. Plate XIV.
This fan, 20 inches diameter, carries its own engine which can develop three or fonr

horse-power with air at ahout 45 pounds pressure. It is driven by belts, the pulleys being

16 inches and 6 inches diameter. The fan produces 4,250 cubic feet of air per minute at a

speed of from 800 to 900 revolutions per minute. M. W. B.
BLOWERS OF CARBONIC ACID GAS.
Les Degagements instantes d'Acide Carbonique aux Mines de Rochebelle (Gard). By G. Hanahte.

Annuaire de VAssociation des Ingenieurs sortis de VEcole de Liege, Vol. VI, 1887, pp. 1-14.

Plates I. and II.
Introduction.
The Fontanes Pit is sunk in very troubled ground, bounded on the west by a fault of from

700 to 800 yards. The seams are much contorted and in section assume an M-like form.

Carbonic acid gas has been given off at all times by the various seams, but firedamp has

only been seen twice. The workings for some time were above the 410 feet level, but it

became necessary to carry the pit down to a depth of 1,300 feet.
Eruptions or Carbonic Acid Gas.
Blower of July 28th, 1879.—Exploring places were being driven in No. 11 Seam at a depth of

810 feet and had reached a distance of about 140 feet from the pit. The coal began to

decrepitate more strongly than usual and the lamps were extinguished and covered with fine

coal, and finally, on July 28th, a blower came off accompanied with the projection into the

drift of about 76 tons of coal.
Blower of November 3rd, 1884.—An exploring drift was being driven at the level of 925 feet

and had cut No. 14 Seam at a distance of 360 feet from the shaft. The seam was, however,

thrown down at the face of the drift. Heavy detonations were heard on the right side of the

drift on November 3rd. The face was all in stone and 24 holes had been prepared ; one of

them, however, penetrated into the seam. Carbonic acid gas was given off from the hole

without pressure and extinguished lamps placed near it. The holes were charged, and, after

lighting the fuse, the workmen retired to the shaft. Five detonations were heard, followed

by 9 or 10 heavy detonations accompanied by a steam-like cloud. In less than a minute the

air was reversed and the workmen experienced great cold, followed by a dense cloud which

extinguished their lamps. The carbonic acid gas rose to the 575 feet level. The ventilating

current of 4,200 cubic feet per minute had no effect upon the issue of gas for two days. At

the end of that time the face was reached and a space was found on one side of the drift

and near the roof of the seam 20 feet long, 65 feet wide, and about 2 feet deep. The drift

was covered with small coal for 15 or 20 feet from the face and for a further distance of

40 feet there was a thickness of about half an inch of fine coal-dust, the whole of which

appeared to have passed through an opening of about 20 inches wide and 10 inches high.
Blower of April 25th, 1885.—The exploring drift at the 925 feet level had been continued

and having again cut No. 14 Seam, had reached a distance of 680 feet from the shaft when

the seam began to dip. On the 21st they heard detonations in the
38
coal; on the 23rd the carbonic acid gas drove the workmen out of the drift for 5 hours, and

formed a deposit of fine coal-dust on about 20 feet of the drift. Small blowers were given

off on the 24th; in the evening 6 holes were made in stone and 5 in coal. On the 25th the

air was worse than usual and they were compelled to use a Korting ventilator. It was

noticed that the place trembled whilst boring the holes in the coal, the fact being

repeatedly verified by the chargeman who stopped the machine drill. The holes were

obstructed, the coal forming a cushion, and in a hole 10 feet long the men could scarcely

draw out the scraper. The cartridges were blown out in charging the holes, which showed

that the pressure was very considerable. The workmen charged the holes as quickly as

possible and retired to the shaft. They had scarcely reached the 575 feet level when they

heard the five coal shots go off. They immediately felt a violent rush of air on the return

side of the brattice in the shaft, followed by repeated blasts on the downcast side which

actually lifted the tub in which they were riding. The carbonic acid gas quickly followed

them to bank and firemen suffered from its effects 80 feet from the shaft.
Over 500,000 cubic feet of the workings at the 410 feet level were filled with this

irrespirable gas by leakage through the doors in less than 10 minutes. On reaching the

drift after an interval of 28 days the floor was found covered with coal which had been

classified by the currents of gas. The coal was like flour at the shaft and about half an

inch thick, at 110 feet it was 12 inches, and at 260 feet it was 16 inches thick. Beyond

this point the coal was coarser and the deposit continued to increase in thickness to about

53 inches. Beyond that point its thickness was about uniform, with a space of from 12 to 20

inches below the top of the drift. At 390 feet from the shaft all the in-bye brick brattice

(200 feet) was destroyed, and pieces of coal weighing 50 pounds or more were found. A space

was found 10 feet from the face, next the roof of the seam, which was explored for a

distance of 52 feet. The right side of the place was solid ; on the left side was a mass of

small coal, not less than 10 feet thick, thrown against the roof of the seam, which was

polished. The blower evidently came from the right at about right angles to the drift. The

quantity of coal found in the drift was about 405 tons, without including that thrown

against the left side of the drift.
Conclusions.
It appears that the phenomena of sudden outbursts of carbonic acid gas are very similar to

those of flre-damp, and it may be supposed that the mode of occurrence of these two gases

in the coal is the same. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, it may be that

the gas is frequently found to be absorbed and condensed by the powdered coal, and not

under pressure, when this coal is in a condition of static equilibrium. This pressure may

then become apparent after a very slight shock, by a fall, which causes the gas to leave

this coal where it was retained by a special attraction. It is only by such means that the

pressure can be developed, that the gas escapes, that suction is produced, and that the

blower or sudden outburst commences.
Professor Graham made many experiments upon the special attraction of gases for solid

bodies. Charcoal is able to absorb about 90 times its own volume of carbonic acid gas or of

ammonia gas. If the pores of the charcoal are the 100th part of its apparent volume the gas

will be reduced by 9,100 times its volume. It is possible, therefore, that charcoal may

liquefy these gases, which require much less reduction of volume.
Blowers of carbonic acid gas, like those of flre-damp, are most frequently found in the

vicinity of faults; that is to say, where the coal has been triturated by disloca-
34
tions. If the trituration takes place in a closed space (as in the present example, where

the Coal-Measures are covered by the Trias) the gas is unable to escape. The dust, having

the absorptive power of porous bodies, absorbs the gas, and this absorption may explain the

enormous volumes of gas given off, notwithstanding its feeble pressure in the coal.
The following precautions have been taken in the extension of the drift at the Rochebelle

Collieries:—
1.—The pit is completely isolated by masonry from the other parts of the mine.
2.—A separate fan, 13 feet in diameter, and turning about 300 revolutions per minute, is

applied to its ventilation.
3.—Shots are to be exclusively fired by electricity after the workmen are out of the mine.
4.—The drift will be driven by mechanical drills and always preceded by a bore-hole of from

6 to 10 feet, in which the pressure of the gas will be measured by gauges.
5.—Electric signals are provided between the face and the surface and vice versa.
M. W. B.
BRANDTS' HYDRAULIC DRILLING MACHINES.
Der maschinelle Bohrbetrieb auf Zeohe Shamrock. Oesterreichische Zeitschrift fur Berg-

und Hiittenwesen, 1887, pp. 134-136.
Brandts' hydraulic drilling machine has been employed for several years at the Shamrock

Colliery for driving a drift about 5,000 feet long. The drift is about 8 feet wide and 6^

feet high, permitting the use of two drilling machines at the face. Nine holes are drilled,

those in the coal and those in stone being fired simultaneously. The water pressure varies

from 26 to 47 atmospheres, and is derived from the marls overlying the Coal-Measures. The

water is drawn from behind the cast iron tubbing and conveyed by means of wrought iron

pipes, 2*4 inches diameter and 16^ feet long. The quantity of water is sufficient to drive

the two boring machines and a turbine attached to a ventilating fan, producing about 1,800

to 2,200 cubic feet of air per minute and using about 8 cubic feet of water per minute.

This ventilator is worked three times daily for about 10 or 15 minutes and the total

quantity of water used for this purpose is from 250 to 350 cubic feet per working day. The

drilling machines require from 750 to 900 cubic feet of water per working day. Three sets

of holes, 2f inches diameter and from 4 feet to 4£ feet long, are drilled and fired in each

day of 24 hours, the drilling of each set of holes occupying about 2 hours. Each drilling

machine uses about 1 cubic foot of water per minute and the two machines use about 750

cubic feet in the 6 hours they are at work.
The dynamite fumes are condensed by a spray of water from the pipes and the air renewed by

running the ventilator for about 10 minutes.
The drift was driven for four months in sandy shale and sandstone by hand at an average

speed of 17 inches per day and cost about 18s. 6d. per foot. The average distance driven by

the drilling machine in similar strata was about 6^ feet per day at a cost of about 29s.

6d. per foot.
The distance driven by hand in coal was at an average speed of 3f feet per day at a cost of

about 8s. per foot. The average distance driven by the drilling machine in the same seam

was about 13^ feet per day at a cost of about 15s. 6d. per foot.
M. W. B.
35
AUSTRALIAN TIN.
Geology of the Vegetable Creek Tin Mining Field, New England District, New South Wales. By

T. W. Edgeworth David. Geological Survey of New South Wales, Mo, 169 pp., with folding Maps

and Sections and Figures in text. Department of Mines, Sydney, 1887.
In 1872 tinstone was first discovered by the Messrs. Fearby at Elsmore, near Inverell, and

soon after, in the same year, Thomas Carlean found stream tin 34 miles off, near the source

of Vegetable Creek. Since that time the district has continued to yield a large supply

of tin. The tin-bearing region is more than 800 square miles in area, lies between the

151st and 152nd meridians east of Greenwich, and the 29th and 30th parallels of south

latitude, and is more than 90 miles from the coast. The rocks of the country are as

follows:—
Post-Pliocene ... Clay, sand, and gravel, usually more or less tin-bearing.
Pliocene (P) ... ... Coarse river gravel overlying basalt.
Eocene, in part ... 3.—Basalt, or " blue metal," capping the tin sands of the " deep

leads." 2.—Laterite, known as " red clinker " or " ashes," sometimes above and sometimes

beneath the basalt (No. 3). 1.—(b) Gravel, sand, and clay of the deep leads, mostly capped

by basalt or laterite, and partly inter stratified with the volcanic rocks.
(a) Quartzite and sinter, known as " grey Billy," occurring irregularly and as

concretions, chiefly near the junction of 1 (b) with 3.
Age unknown ... Diorite dykes.
„ ... Hypersthene-garnet-diorite.
Permian (?)... ... 2.—Granite (b), coarse grained and intrusive, with eurite
and quartz in veins, containing tinstone and, in places, wolfram, magnetic and ordinary

iron pyrites, arsenical pyrites, bismuth, and molybdenite. Granite (a) a hornblendic

variety. Age unknown ... 1.—(o) Intrusive red quartz-porphyries.
(b) Intrusive white quartz-porphyries.
(a) Intrusive hornblendic quartz-porphyries and breccias. These are tin-bearing and may

be connected with the eurites of the granite. Upper Silurian (or I Yellowish brown to

olive green shales passing into clay-Siluro-Devonian) ) stones with

bands of felspathic quartzite and beds of
dark grey pebble conglomerate. Age unknown ... Porphyrite.
„ ... Granite (metamorphic ?). No metalliferous deposits have '
been found in this rock. The local deposits of tin ore are, therefore, classed as follows,

according to their mode of origin :—
Deposits op Tin Ore.
r----------------------------1----------------------------i
Alluvial stream-works. Plutonic veins.
i------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------'------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------1
Recent and Pleistocene Tertiary -i deep leads," mostly
" shallow leads." capped with lava.
38
MINERALS OF THE TAMBO VALLEY (AUSTRALIA).
The Physiography of the Tambo Valley. By James Stirling. Transactions of the

Geological Society of Australasia, Vol. I., 1887, pp. 37-66, with Plate of Fossils.
The River Tambo runs from the great Dividing Range of the Australian Alps to the Gippsland

Lakes. The valley is excavated in the following rocks :—
Silurian.—(a) Auriferous slates and grits of the Haunted Stream, etc.
(b) Altered schists and slates of Eusay, etc. Also granites and diorites of
Lower Palajozoic age. Devonian.—Bindi limestones. Mt. Tambo conglomerates and slates.

Limestones of
Buchan, etc. Also porphyritic granite, porphyries, diabase, and diorites
of Upper Palaeozoic age. Miocene.—Lava flows, basaltic, and dykes. Pliocene.—Boulder wash,

sands and conglomerates. Pleistocene.—Glacial and alluvial deposits.
Gold has been worked only on the western watershed of the Tambo valley. In quartz reefs at

Swift's Creek and Haunted Stream; in the alluvia at both localities; in terraces on Tambo

River, below Doctor's Flat and near Bindi, associated in quartz veins with pyrites and

oxide of silver.
Silver.—In quartz veins, as above; also with galena in vughs and veins, and with

boulangerite.
Copper.—Erubescite, azurite, malachite, chalcocite, and chalcopyrite occur in the gold

reefs at Swift's Creek, and in certain greenstone dykes at Tambo River, below Doctor's

Flat.
Lead.—Galena at Swift's Creek; cerussite in quartz, with pyrites; argentiferous

pyromorphite in small veins among the metamorphic schists.
Tin.—Cassiterite in small quantities in auriferous wash below Doctor's Flat,
Iron.—Menaccanite in alluvial workings, Swift's Creek; micaceous iron ore in small patches

in the Swift's Creek metamorphic rocks; hsematite and limonite in gold reefs, Long Gully;

iron pyrites, mispickel, and chalybite in the gold workings.
G. A. L.
THE PRODUCTION OF QUICKSILVER.
(1) La Produccion y consumo del Azogue. By J. G. H. Revista Minera, Metalurgica y de

Ingenieria, Ano XXXVIIL, 1887, pp. 131, 132, 139-141.
The annual amount of quicksilver produced since 1877 in the United States and Spain is thus

tabulated:—
United States. Spain. „, . , ™„ , .
Flasks. Flasks. Total Flasks-
1877 ... 79,396 ... 40,747 .. 120,143
1878 ... 63,880 ... 41,913 ... 105,793
1879 ... 73,684 ... 45,131 ... 118,815
1880 ... 59,926 ... 45,588 ... 105,514
1881 ... 60,851 ... 46,137 ... 106,988
1882 ... 52,732 ... 46,614 ... 99,316
1883 ... 46,725 ... 47,732 ... 94,457
1884 ... 31,913 ... 44,757 ... 76,670
1885 ... 32,073 ... 47,852 ... 79,925
1886 ... 29,981 ... 51,198 ... 81,179
39
The author calls attention to the steadiness of the Spanish output, which, he says, is due

to the admirable manner in which the mercurial ores are worked in Spain, as well as to

their constant average composition.
(2) La Campana de Almaden. Anon. Same publication, pp. 222, 223. The yearly mining

campaign at Almaden lasts from October to May, work being suspended during the hot months

for considerations of health. The above statistics are supplemented in the present

article by the following account of the monthly output of these mines up to May, 1887 :—
Flasks of Mercury.
1886.—October ............... 2,568
November......... ...... 6,566
December ... ... ... ••¦ •¦• 7,627
1887.—January ............... 8,041
February ............... 8,130
March.................. 7,816
April................. 7,160
May .................. 3,012
(3) El Azogue en los Estados-Unidos. Aison. Same publication, p. 264. In this article

the conditions existing at the New Almaden mines, in America, are compared with those at

the Old Almaden mines, in Spain, greatly to the advantage of the latter.

G- A- L-
OZOKERITE IN GALICIA.
Ueber das VorTcommen des OzoJcerits oder Erdwachs und begleitende Fossilien in der

Sobieslcl-Grube bei Truskawiec itn Krelse JDobrobicz in Ost-Galizien. By Prof. F.

Roemer. Proceedings of the Natural History Section of the Silesian Society, VII., 1885

{pub. 1886), p. 36. The Sobieski mineral oil mine at Truskavviec, in Eastern Galicia, is in

a grey bituminous clay. In this clay are found irregular masses of ozokerite, sometimes

in lumps nearly 100 lbs. in weight. Lenticular masses of argillaceous bituminous

limestone also occur in the clay, and contain crystals of native sulphur and arragonite

lining cavities within them. Selenite is common in the same deposit.

G. A. L.
POETSCH SYSTEM OF SINKING THROUGH AQUIFEROUS STRATA BY FREEZING.
Note sur des Experiences de Congelation des Terrains. By — Alby. Annates des Mines, Ser. 8,

Vol. XL,pp. 56£o86; Plate II. Annates des Fonts et Chaussees, Ser. 6, Vol. 14, pp. 338-388;

Plate 35.
Introduction.
The Poetsch system, which was first applied at the Archibald Pits, near Schneid-lingen, has

been employed in several more cases, some of which have been unsuccessful.
The most- recent application of the system is at the Houssu Collieries, in Belgium. The

outside diameter of the pit is 15 feet 5 inches, the clear diameter being 13 feet, The

sands were found at a depth of 203 feet, and solid clay at 241 feet. The coal lies
40
at a much lower level. Eighteen tubes are placed in a ring of 8*2 feet radius, and 7|-and

6f inches in diameter. Although the bed to be traversed is only 38 feet thick the pipes

have been made 69 feet long. The connecting cross tubes are placed at a depth of 177 feet,

and the freezing tubes attain a depth of 246 feet. They were driven in by hand labour. The

pumps kept the water at a level of 175 feet. The operation has been very troublesome, as

the sand, disturbed by the insertion of the tubes, passed into the pumps. Cold is produced

by two machines capable of making 1,000 pounds of ice per hour. One machine has been in use

since December 5th, 1885, and the other since July 18th, 1886. Before being frozen, about

1,000 cubic feet of water were pumped, of which about 350 cubic feet came from the sand.

This quantity has since decreased, but the pit has not yet been sunk.
Experiments.
Experiments have been made since October, 1885, in the workshops of Messrs. Rouart Brothers

upon the freezing of soil and the study of certain questions relative to the application of

the system—the formation of ice around the tubes, and the resistance of the frozen matter.
The apparatus employed consisted of a sheet iron cylinder 55 inches diameter and 118 inches

deep, containing at its axis a tube 6f inches in diameter, similar to the freezing tubes.

The cylinder is fitted with the material to be frozen, and surrounded with a thick covering

of straw to isolate it from the atmosphere. A number of holes were made in the sides, which

permitted the entry of a bar used to ascertain the formation and the profile of the ice.

The refrigerating solution circulated continually in the central tube from the freezing

machine.
The experiments have not allowed the determination of the time necessary for the formation

of a given thickness of ice; the formation, however, proceeds more slowly as its thickness

increases.
The resistances of the frozen matters were tested by crushing them in an hydraulic press,

and a few specimens were tested for tensile strength. Tests have been made upon sand and

water in various proportions and at various degrees of temperature, and upon cubes of pure

water.
The practical results of these experiments are:—(a) The rapid increase of the resistance of

the sand, etc., when the temperature is lowered, (b) The resistance appears to vary

approximately with the volume of water contained in the sand.
In the tensile experiments the proportion of water was more important. Thus, sand saturated

with water at a temperature of —10 degrees Cent, could withstand a strain of 550 pounds per

square inch, and 425 pounds could be relied upon if the water was not in excess. When

two-thirds saturated the resistance was about 350 pounds, and with one-third it was almost

nil. M. W. B.
STAUSS' KEPS.
Note sur VApplication des Taquets a abaissenient du Systeme Stauss au siege No. 5 des

Charbonnages de Bascowp. By A. Demeure. Annuaire de VAssociation des Ingenieurs sortis de

VFcole de Liege, 1887, Vol. VI, pp. 116 to 126. Plate 6.
In Stauss' system the keps are in the shape of small bolts, which are hinged, and permit

the upward movement of the cage (in the same manner as the ordinary kep), it falls after

the passage of the cage, and is ready to sustain it. The keps are supported and slide upon

a steel girder, whose upper surface has an angle of 9 degrees. They
41
are suspended at the other end from a short vibrating lever, and are actuated by means of a

hand lever through a short connecting rod. The working of the levers is assisted by the

weight of the cage, which causes the keps to slide upon the girders and throws back the

short vibrating lever.
It is found in practice that the cage alone, whatever may be its weight, cannot throw back

the keps until the banksman draws back the hand lever a little, when the weight of the cage

completes the operation.
The keps generally employed require the cage to be lifted before they are disengaged, and

in the case of a cage with four decks the engine has to be reversed nine times for each

journey of the cage. With Stauss' keps the cage is drawn up until the lower deck can be

lowered upon the keps, which are withdrawn, and the cage lowered until the remaining decks

have been changed ; the engine has consequently only to be reversed once and moved five

times always in the same direction.
The alleged advantages of the system are (a) Economy of time of from three to six seconds

in changing each deck of the cage. With two-decked cages, drawing from a depth of 800 feet,

78 cages were drawn per hour with the ordinary keps, whilst with Stauss' keps from 82 to 88

cages are drawn per hour. (b~) Economy of steam, owing to the non-reversal of the engine,

and saving of as many strokes of the piston. (c) Decreased wear and tear of the ropes, (d)

Decreased wear and tear of the valves and moving parts of the engines, {e) In new

installations smaller engines might be employed.

M. W. B.
STUDIES ON THE STRATIFICATION OF THE ANTHRACITE MEASURES OP PENNSYLVANIA.
By Henry A. Wasmttth. Journal of the Franklin Institute, Third Series, Vol. XCIV.,

1887, pp. 109-125. Four Plates in text.
The State Geological Survey of Pennsylvania advocates the theory that the anthracite

measures have been folded into numerous inversions, without fracture of the strata. The

writer maintains that in bedded mineral deposits no inversion or overlapping of the strata

can take place without fracture, and more or less dislocation and that, in general, the

dislocations of the strata take place in one of two ways. Either the portion of a mineral

deposit on the hanging wall of the fracture is in a lower position than the portion on the

foot wall, or it is in a higher position, and overlaps. The first class are called

transverse faults, and the second class are called longitudinal faults, or overlaps.
The latter class of dislocations are possible only when the strike of the fault ranges with

the strike of the axis and strata, and the inclination of the fault, greater than the dip

of the strata, is always of the course of the dip of the strata. They usually occur in the

vicinity of anticlinals or synclinals, and have the same origin. The downward bending of

the strata on the hanging wall may be produced by the enormous weight of the overhanging

strata, and the prodigious oblique force of the sliding strata on the foot wall of the

fault, while the up-bending on the foot wall of the fault may be explained by a certain

resistance of the underlying strata, which necessarily must have produced an oblique

movement of the strata in the direction of its strike with similar results.
The first class of dislocations occur chiefiy with a strike of the fault, transverse to the

strike of the axis and strata. They often cross anticlinal and synclinals, and, therefore,

they may be considered to be of later origin than the anticlinals and synclinals crossed by

them.

M. W. B.
42
MAGNESIUM CARBONATE AS A NON-CONDUCTOR OF HEAT.
Bg E. Luttgen. Transactions of American Institute of Mining Engineers, Vol. XV.,

1886-87, pp. 614-625.
Loss by Condensation.
Diameter Weight Condensed Kilo-Description of Covering upon 6 Feet

of per Foot Steam, in gramme Pound _ Length of 2 Inch

Pipe. Covering in Ozs. Grammes, Centigrade Fahrenheit

in Inches. Avoirdu- per Foot Heat Units Heat Units pois. per Hour.

per j?0ot Per Foot per Hour. Per Hour.
Hair felt, wrapped with twine, and I ., ,0, „. „„

,„„_ „~ ,.„
ordinary bur lap jacket... ... J 4* l2i 34'6f!

17'39 69'02
Sectional carbonate of magnesia, )
asbestos paper jacket, and iron j- 4£ 20| 37'83 18'97

75-29
bands ... ... ... ... )
Sectional carbonate of magnesia,) ., „„, 00 n,,

,_ nH w„ ni.
canvas jacket, and iron bands ... i 4* *? 38-°° 19'07

^'68
Sectional mineral wool, asbestos) rl „ 3 „„„ moo

ha co
paper, mineral wool, and muslin f °* Z8ir 38*°° 19'd2

7b'68
Chalmer-Spence's asbestos hair felt ) ., ao, JIM „. nn

„„ _„
and paper... ^.........( ^ 28* 41'66 20'90

82"9°
Shield's & Brown's asbestos paper t ., ~-, ,,,. ..

e
and sheathing paper ...... J 4* ^7* 4Z'°° 2V3d

84'65
Reed's asbestos paper and felt paper... 4i 26| 45-00

22-58 89-62
Fossil meal, diatomaceous earth,) „o aJ ~* m

«o ^,. , i«k*
and organic fibre.........) 3* 24 57'50 28'86

114'54
Ainsworth's paper pulp, clay, and hair 4^ 66 96'60

48-48 192*14
_____________________________________________________________________,_____________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________I
M. W. B.
CAGE CATCHES.
SchacMjalien (System Sartorius unci HolzerJ. Jul. Sprenger. Berg- unci Suet ten-mcennische

Zeitung. Vol. XLVL, Nos. 51 and 52, pp. 477-479 and 487-489. One Plate.
By old-fashioned methods a cage, on arrival at bank, passes two or more catches just below

the level of the Hat sheets, and is lowered again and arrested by them. The rope then

slackens, and when the cage is ready to descend again it has to be lifted with a jerk,

giving more or less of a jar to the whole structure. To obviate this, two mechanical

methods are in use. One of these, at the Heinitz Dechen Colliery in Neunkirchen, consists

of catches, two to each end of each cage, working on horizontal spindles, and with just

play enough to allow the cages to lift them and slide past. Between the cages on each side

a ring is keyed on to the spindle, with a tongue pointing inwards and rounded on its under

side, so that a wedge, placed between it and a beam just below, will either keep it firmly

in its position, or allow the shaft to turn through any desired angle. There are thus two

wedges opposite each other, and these are connected by single pins with a rod hinged at its

middle. A vertical rod, working by an arrangement of levers below and by a bell-crank

above, raises the centre hinge above mentioned, and the halves of the horizontal rod being

then made to form an angle with each other, the wedges are drawn towards the centre,

allowing the tongues to descend. A horizontal rod attached to the vertical arm of the

bell-crank above, and supplied with a handle and catch, provides means of regulating the

travel of the wedges and of lowering the cage at will. To bring the arrangement back into

position, and also to let the cage away gently, each spindle is provided with a balance

weight, fixed on a short lever on the side of the spindle away from the catches.
43
The other method described differs in principle from the foregoing, only, in so far, that

springs are introduced between the catches and the wedged tongues, rendering the support of

the cage more elastic. In place of the tongue in the former arrangement, a short arm on the

side of the horizontal spindle away from the catches is connected by a vertical spiral

spring to a similar arm, a foot or so lower, working on another short spindle, and having a

tongue and adjustable wedge as before. Thus, even when the wedges are tightly home, the

spiral spring allows the catches to give sufficiently to prevent any jar when the cage is

set down. With either arrangement, but more especially with the latter, the pulling of a

handle allows the cage to descend gently till the rope becomes taut, and the wear and tear

due to jerking and jarring are reduced to a minimum. The whole contrivance is simple, and

its working parts are such as may be easily replaced.

A. R. L.
HYDRAULIC BRAKES FOR WINDING ENGINES.
Sgdraulische Bremsvorrichtung fur Fordermaschinen. Julius Sprenger. Berg-und

Huettenmcennische Zeitung. Vol. XLV1L, Nos. 1 and 2,pp. 1-3 and 13-14. One Plate.
With the increasing depths of mines and consequent greater size of winding machinery, the

power of efficiently controlling the engine gains in importance every day. The German

police regulations require every winding engine to be fitted with a steam brake, which will

bring it to a standstill at once, though going at full speed. This, however, must be

applied by the brakesman, and its success depends on his judgment and nerve. To make the

brake self-acting, a hydraulic arrangement has been designed by which the cage, when lifted

too high, is made to apply it itself.
About half-way between the winding drums and the shaft, a pump with reservoir and

accumulator supplies pressure to a length of piping leading to the shaft, and farther to a

return length of piping leading back to the steam brakes on the farther side of the drums.

A valve at the shaft permits the pressure from the accumulator to be carried farther only

when it is raised by a lever, which, in case of accident, the cage itself will actuate. The

pressure thus communicated to the return length of piping, acts on a vertical cylinder

working on the accumulator principle, and, by a vertical rod and system of levers, may

either act on the piston rod of the steam brake direct, or, by actuating the slide valves,

admit the steam to the steam cylinder in the usual manner.
For lifting the valve at the shaft a bar projects over sufficiently to be caught and lifted

by the cage if the latter should rise too high. The accumulator pump, which acts on the

pipe leading to the shaft, is also connected by a branch with the return pipe, and a 3-way

cock, placed at its junction with this and with the branch to the reservoir, allows the

latter to be shut off and the water to be pumped from the return pipe, thus taking off the

pressure and relieving the brake after it has done its work. The vertical rod to the valve

at the shaft is fitted with a hand wheel, working a screw in the casting at the fiat

sheets, enabling the valve to be screwed down fast if desired, and, in addition, with a

screw coupling which, in case of accident, can be disconnected altogether. Also, a rod from

above allows the valve to be lifted by hand when it is desired to try the working of the

apparatus; this, under ordinary circumstances, being kept under lock.
The hydraulic piston near the steam brake works in a cylinder, and when raised will apply

the brake; but it is necessary for the steam brake to be workable when the
44
hydraulic gear is not in use. With this view the upright rod, instead of being fixed at its

lower end, is made to work loosely in the piston, so that it may move up and down when the

latter is at rest.
The newer hydraulic arrangements are mostly made to work on the steam piston rod direct,

and not on the slide valves. The inventor is a Herr W. Gerhardt, and the makers of the

apparatus are Messrs. Dingier. Karcher, & Co., of St. Johann on the Saar.

R. L.
AN UNDERGROUND VENTILATING FAN IN WESTPHALIA.
Anlage eines miter irdischen Ventilators auf der Zeche Shamrock bei Heme in West-falen. By

L. Graff. Zeitschriftfur das Berg-, PLutten- und Salinan-Wesen, Vol. XXXIV., 1886,

Abhandlungen, pp. 234-240. Plates XIII. and XIV.
The fan is placed at a depth of 640 feet, in a chamber 49 feet long, 16| feet broad, and

from 14^ feet to 24^ feet high, and adjacent to both the downcast and upcast shafts. The

Geisler fan is 11| feet diameter and is a modification of the Rittinger. It is encased in a

spiral casing of brickwork, with a coating of cement, and the delivery is made by means of

a curved drift into the upcast pit at a height of about 46 feet above the fan. There are

two high pressure engines, each of 13 inches diameter, 23-6 inches stroke, and the fan is

driven by four 2-inch hemp ropes, from a fly-wheel 14'8 feet diameter to a pulley 4"9 feet

diameter upon the shaft of the fan.
The following observations have been made upon the fan:—
Table I.
v„i„m. „* No. of Baro- Temperature.

Tempera-No. of A™r Revolu- meter at_______________Water-

meat.
Experi- Tyrmllte tions of Bottom

gauge. Q
ment. Q • Engine per of Downcast. Eeturns.

&¦ ./, :;
^- Minute. Downcast.

v'i
Cubic Feet. Inches. Deg. F. Deg. F. Inches.
1. 79,860 35 29-92 467 70-2 -831

875
2. 91,140 40 29-92 467 70"2 1-088

875
3. 100,610 45-4 29-89 478 702 1-401 8'47
4. 105,270 49-6 29"88 48-0 70'2 1-685

8-10
5. 109,020 50 29-84 48-2 70"2 1771

8-18
6. 124,000 55-6 29"92 46'0 69"8 2'323

8'12
7. 128,070 59-6 29"92 46"4 69-8 2'586

7"96
8. 138,170 65-2 29-92 46-4 69"8 2 964

8'04
9. 142,670 66-8 29-92 46-4 69"8 3 098

8'06
The volume of air in thousands of cubic feet per minute divided by the water-gauge in

hundredths
of an inch.
Table II.
ENx°pe°rf- *&? "^fflT ^^ '" ^wefin ment. Minute.

on Piston. p°r Minute. Power- theAir.
Cubic Feet. Lbs. per Sq. Inch.
1. 95,270 4034 54 65"36 53'05
2. 86.870 37-58 53 48-9Q 39-60
3. 129,750 60-64 66 120-00 99-00
M, W.B,
45
HELLHOFPITE AND DYNAMITE.
Vergleichungs-Resultate von Sprengversuchen mit Hellhoffite und Dynamit im

Sig-mundschachter Grubenfelde zu Schemnitz. By A. Wiesnek. Oesterreichische Zeitschrift fur

Berg- und Sutten-tvesen, 1887, Vol. XXXV, pp. 53 to 59.
Comparative trials of hellhoffite and dynamite have been made recently at the Sigmund Mine,

near Schemnitz, in Hungary.
In the same gallery of the mine 10"4 pounds of hellhoffite broke down 22"14 tons of rock,

and 11'2 pounds of dynamite broke down 14'97 tons of rock.
In another place 2-2 pounds of hellhoffite broke down 471 tons, and the same weight of

dynamite only produced 2-97 tons of rock. M. W. B.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE PIELER LAMP FOR THE DETECTION OF FIRE-DAMP.
By Jon. Mayee. Oesterreichische Zeitschrift filr Berg- und Hiitten-wesen, 1887, Vol.

XXXV, pp. 111-112.
The new regulations of the Minister of Mines for the collieries of Moravia and Silesia

enact that the Pieler or an equally sensitive safety-lamp shall be used by the officials in

examining for the presence of fire-damp in mines.
It is possible to detect '25 per cent, of gas with the Pieler lamp. The writer, however,

points out that the Pieler is not a perfect safety-lamp, and states that at various

coal-mines in Polish-Ostrau, when the Pieler lamp was placed in an explosive mixture, the

ignition of the gas inside the lamp was communicated through the gauze and fired the gas on

the outside of the lamp.
The Pieler lamp is really a Davy lamp with a single gauze of abnormal dimensions, and the

writer proposes to construct it with two gauzes. This construction will, however, diminish

the value of the lamp as an indicator of the presence of gas, as the detection of "25 per

cent, of gas is a somewhat difficult matter even when one gauze only is employed.
It may be advisable, therefore, to adhere to the use of the single-gauze Pieler lamp. A

Mueseler, Wolf, or other safety-lamp should, however, be used first in the examination of

the workings, and then, if no fire-damp is detected, the Pieler lamp may be used in safety.

M. W. P.
SEPARATION OF COAL-DUST FROM SMALL COAL BY AN AIR BLAST.
Abscheiden des Kohlenstaubes durch Wind. Zeitschrift fur das Berg- Siltten- und

Salinen-tvesen im Preussischen Staate, 1887, Vol. XXXV., p. 264. Plate 16.
A coal-washing plant has been erected at the Zollverein Colliery in which the coal-dust up

to a size of "12 inch is separated from the coarser coal by means of a fan blast. The

washing of this fine coal had been done very roughly and the fine coal formed a mud with

the wafer which checked the making of coke. It was found desirable to separate the dust by

some dry process, and a current of air is now employed. A 50-inch Pelzer fan is used, and

produces a blast which operates on the coal falling in a thin stream from the shoot. The

coal not exceeding a size of -28 inch is separated into two classes, one from '16 to -28

inch, and the other from the finest dust
to '12 inch.
M. W. B.
9
46
LAUER'S FRICTION-MATCH SYSTEM OF IGNITING SHOTS IN MINES.
By J. Mayer. OesterrcicMsche Zeitschrift fur Berg- und Siitten-wesen, 1887, Vol.

XXXV., pp. 129-131, and one Figure in text.
The friction match consists of a small metallic tube, with a suitable explosive material

and friction wire which is bent and indented at the inner end. The crook of the wire is

placed against the lower edge of the tube and causes a certain resistance, so that a feeble

accidental pull of the wire during the preparation of the shot would not ignite the

friction match.
A wooden bobbin is placed upon the friction wire above'the explosive material in the small

tube. The detonator and cap, whose ignition should affect that of the charge of dynamite,

are placed under the explosive material. The lower end of the match (below the cap) is then

closed with some plastic material. A match case of the same length as the shot-hole,

composed of wood or paper, and in which the friction wire is enclosed, is placed around the

tube and the cap. The wire in the form of a loop projects from the other end of the case,

and a thin cord is attached for the purpose of making the ignition in safety at a distance.

A bobbin is placed at the outer end of the case of the match (projecting out of the

bore-hole) protecting the match and permitting also a moderately sloping pull of the wire,

without which the case itself would be torn open or broken off.

M. W. B.
COMPARATIVE VALUES OF GERMAN COALS.
Zusammenstellung der vergleichenden Versuche ilber die Heizkraft und andere in technischer

Beziehung WieMige Eigenschaften verschiedener Steinkohlensorten. Zeitschrift fur das Berg-

Siltten- und Salinen-wesen im Preussischen Staate, 1887, Vol. XXXV., pp. 169 to 190.
Experiments were made at the Government dockyards at Wilhelmshaven during the years 1874 to

1886 upon the evaporative powers of various German, and a few English, Japanese,

Australian, and American coals, together with a few samples of compressed fuel made in

Germany and Cardiff.
Some of the best and lowest results are given in the following Table:—
Description of Coal. ^owef™ Remarks.
I.—German Coals.
A.— Westphalian Coals. 1.—Gas Coals—
102. Jacob Colliery ... 8*065 The gas coals are hard and burn easily with a
39. Shamrock Colliery ... 8-554 long flame, and produce large volumes of 164.

Rhein-ElbeColliery... 6-652 smoke.
2.—Coking Coals— The coking coals burn readily with a long

flame
1. Victor Colliery ... 9-277 and do not produce much smoke. Their ova-
135. Friederike Colliery ... 7'390 porative power is high, and they cake upon
the grate.
3.—Steam Coals— The steam coals cake less readily than the

cok-
48. Nachtigall Colliery... 8*517 ing coals, and burn with a clear flame. The
158. Alstaden Colliery ... 7'029 anthracite coals are difficult to burn, and

give
a short flame with intense heat.
4.—Mixtures— Mixtures of coking and steam coals

generally
\ Nachtigall... I o.aoo glve a greater evaporative power than the
^ Shamrock... ) calculated mean result,
47
Description of Coal. ^wef™ Kljmarks-
13.— Wurm Coals. Bituminous Coals—
35. Aachen ...... 8'572
Steam Coals— The steam coals burn very slowly, and

are
33. Aachen ...... 8-582 anthracitic.
(j___Upper Silesian Coals. The Upper Silesian coals burn very rapidly

with
117. Veronika Seam, near long flames, and produce steam rapidly, but
Morgenroth ... 7'779 with more smoke and have a lower evapora-
166. Wildensteinsegen Col- tive power than the Westphalian coking coals.
iiery ... ... 6*341 Generally they are similar to Westphalian
gas coals or to Newcastle coal.
O,__Lower Silesian Coals. The Lower Silesian coals resemble in part the
8. Gliickhilf Colliery ... 8-539 Westphalian gas and in part the coking coals.

134. Weissteiner Colliery 7"438 They burn with a long flame and produce a
denser smoke. Some of these coals will cake, others will not. II.—Foreign Coals.
A.—English Coals.
37. Thomas'Merthyr ... 8-569 96. Nant Melyne Merthyr 8*170
159. Scotch ... ... 6-945
160. Lochgelly ...... 6*888
B#__Japanese Coals. The Japanese coals burn very rapidly and

have,
165. Japanese Coals ... 6*592 nevertheless, only a low evaporative power
and produce much smoke. C.—Australian Coals.
163. Gulland Colliery, near
Brisbane...... 6-764
140. Wallsend, near Newcastle ...... 7-326
1).—New Zealand Coals.
149. Bay of Islands ... 7-163
E.—American Coals.
167. Punta Arenas ... 4*474
III.—Compressed Fuel.
2. Dahlhauser ... ... 9'024 A cubic foot of the compressed fuel weighed
107. Rhein-Elbe and Alma 7"950 from 62 to 72 pounds.
137. Cardiff ...... 7366
M. W. B.
THE ORIGIN OF COAL.
Etudes sur le terrain houiller de Commentry. Litre Premier. Lithologie et

Strati-graphie. By Henri Fayol. Bulletin de la Societe de VIndustrie Minerale, Ser.

2, Vol. XV., pp. 1-543, with large folio Atlas of twenty-five Plates. This is the first

part of an extremely detailed monograph of the coal-field of Commentry, in Central France.

It consists, however, largely (besides matter of more strictly local interest) of a very

full discussion in all its bearings of the question of the origin and mode of formation of

coal and the rocks associated with it, not only in this basin but elsewhere. The

extraordinary number of facts brought together by the author renders a satisfactory

abstract of the volume impossible. The general con-
48
elusion arrived at is that the whole of the Coal-Measures, including the coal-seams, are

deposits formed by rivers at their mouths in lakes or in the sea. It is pointed out that

esiuarine or deltaic formations are of coarser elements and greater irregularity of bedding

in lakes than in the sea (i.e. in tranquil than in disturbed waters). The conglomerates,

grits, shales, and coals of the Central France basins are regarded as types of the former,

those in the North of France coal-fields of the latter. M. Fayol has, by means of

long-continued experiments on a large scale, been able to reproduce at will both modes of

sedimentation, together with all the stratigraphical peculiarities which characterise them.

Every point usually relied on as evidence that most coal-seams have been formed in place is

examined in turn and dismissed as worthless, and every argument in favour of the drift

origin of coal is upheld by a vast array of corroborative facts. Even in the coal-fields of

Belgium and Northern France the author states that he has not seen a single underclay

having at all the appearance of an ancient vegetable soil. The succeeding parts of this

great monograph are to be written by Messrs. Renault, Zeiller, Sauvage, Ch. Brongniart,

Stan. Meunier, and De Launay.
' G. A. L.
MINERALS OF INDIA.
A Manual of the Geology of India. Part IV. Mineralogy (mainly non-economic). By F. R.

Mallet. Published by the Indian Government, Calcutta, Geological Survey Office, 1887, 179

pp. Four Plates of Crystals.
A complete list of all the minerals at present known in India. The work is supplementary to

Mr. V. Ball's " Economic Geology of India," and some of the minerals dealt with fully in

that portion of the " Manual" are merely mentioned in the present part. On the other hand,

much information is given respecting the mode of occurrence of many minerals of minor

commercial value. The following are included in the list:—Gold, platinum, platiniridium

(?), iridosmine, mercury (?), copper, lead (?), sulphur, diamond, graphite, realgar,

orpiment, stibnite, bismuthite, molybdenite, O'Rileyite (an ore of copper, iron, and

arsenic), galena, bornite, jaipurite (= syepoorite, a sulphide of cobalt), blende,

cinnabar, sulphide of lead and copper, pyrite, chalco-pyrite, cobaltite, marcasite,

leucopyrite, arsenopyrite, bournonite, tetrahedrite, frei-bergite, sylvite, sal ammoniac,

chlorocalcite, atacamite, fluorite, cuprite, melaconite, corundum, hematite, ilmenite,

spinel, magnetite, chromite, chrysoberyl, cassiterite, rutile, braunite, minium,

pyrolusite, turgite, manganite, limonite, beauxite, psilomelane, wad, valentinite (?),

kermesite, cervantite, quartz with numerous varieties, opal, enstatite, hypersthene,

wollastonite, pyroxene, rhodonite, amphibole, beryl, chrysolite, garnet, zircon, idocrase,

epidote, axinite, phlogopite, biotite, muscovite, lepidolite, lapis lazuli (?), indianite,

labradorite, oligoclase, albite, orthoclase, microeline, chondrodite, tourmaline,

andalusite, fibrolite, topaz, sphene, tscheffkinite, staurolite, bombite, dys-clasite,

laumontite, chrysocolla, prehnite, apophyllite, allophane, thomsonite, natrolite,

poohnalite, mesolite, analcime, chabasite, hypostilbite, stilbite, epistilbite, heulandite,

talc, glauconite, serpentine, pholerite, kaolin, halloyite, margarodite, euphyllite,

chlorite, apatite, pyromorphite, mimetite, vivianite, libethenite, chalcophyllite,

lazulite, turquoise, torbernite, nitre, soda-nitre, nitrocalcite, borax, wolfram,

wulfenite, thenardite, barite, celestite, anhydrite, anglesite, glauberite, sulphate of

magnesium and potassium (?), mirabilite, gypsum, kieserite, bloedite, epsomite,

melanterite, goslarite, chalcanthite, alunogen, kalinite, calcite, dolomite, magnesite,

siderite, smithsonite, witherite (?), cerussite, carbonates of sodium, malachite, azurite,

petroleum, native paraffin, fossil wax (?), amber, fossil resin, hircine, coal.
The list is critical, insufficiently confirmed occurrences being omitted.
G. A. L.
49
INDIAN COAL-FIELDS.
The Southern Coal-fields of the Sdtpura Gondwdna Basin. By E. A. Jones. Memoirs of the

Geological Survey of India, Vol. XXIV. (1887), pp. 1-58, with ttvo Geological Maps.
The region described includes a narrow outcrop of coal-bearing rocks belonging to the

Barakar group of the Gondvvana series, and extending generally from east to west for about

75 miles in the Chhindvvara and Betul districts. The coal-fields recognised (from west to

east) are those of Shahpur, Dolari, Tawa, Kanhan, Hingladevi, Gajundoh, Barkoi, Harai, and

Sirgora. Particulars respecting the principal coal-seams observed may be summarised as

follows:—
Sirgora Field.—One seam 4 feet 9 inches or more, and another 3 feet thick.
Barkoi Field.—Twelve coal crops noticed, including one seam 15 feet 6 inches thick (with 12

feet 3 inches of coal), one 15 feet 2 inches (of which 7 feet 3 inches is coal), and the

rest above 3 feet in thickness.
BZarai Field.—The coal reported from this region is probably shale.
Hingladevi Field.—One seam said to be more than 5 feet thick.
Kanhan Field.—Five crops, 9 feet 8 inches, 8 feet, 3 feet, 3 feet, and 1 foot 4 inches

thick respectively.
Tawa Field.—One seam 14 feet thick (much disturbed), one above 9 feet 4 inches (in a very

inaccessible locality), and several small seams.
The following analyses are given:—
Volatile Matter.
T ,.,. '-----------j-------------- JPi?ed As*-

Remarks.
Localities. Exclusive Carbon.
Mois- of
ture. Moisture.
1. Chinda ......... 16 61 23 ------
2. Barkoi ......... 26 50'3 23"7 -----
3. Bhutaria......... 26"5 49"3 24"2 ------
4. Sirgora ......... 28 61-6 10-4 -----
5. Takea River, near Datla... 324 19'28 2910 48-2 Does not cake.
6. Between Datla and Badea 534 28-36 48'58 1772
7. Punnara......... 2"16 18"92 37"74 41-18
8. Tannia River ...... 2-10 26"38 54-34 17-18 Cakes, but not strongly.
9. Sarni-Patakkra...... 4-00 26-02 49"46 20-52 Does not cake.
These analyses being from coal at the outcrop, with the exception of No. 4, are

unsatisfactory. Mr. Blanford in a previous report recommended borings at Sirgora, Bhutaria,

Barkoi, Chinda, and Porasia.
Good iron ores are absent from this district. G.

A. L.
HELLHOFFITE.
Ilellhoffit. By Alois Pfefeek. Oesterreichische Zeitschrift fur das Berg- und

Rntten-wesen, 1887, Vol. XXXV, pp. 300-302.
Hellhoftite consists of a solution of the nitro derivatives of certain hydro-carbons (nitro

or binitro-benzol) dissolved in concentrated nitric acid. The explosive is rapidly prepared

by simply mixing the components together. It is a thin ruby red liquid with a specific

gravity of l-4, and retains the corrosive action of the nitric acid. It is a very unstable

body and is said to become solid at a temperature of — 58 degs. Fah. It is not easily

ignited by flame, and burns with a considerable production of light. It burns like resin

when poured upon a fire. It is decomposed by water or on heating. It is exploded with

violence by detonators, but is practically inert to friction or blows.
It is used in two forms, either as a liquid or absorbed in kieselguhr.
50
Tt is difficult to handle owing to its corrosive action, which destroys ordinary forms of

cartridges.
It would appear from the experiments made at Przibram, Schemnitz, Neunkirchen, and Trauze

that hellhoffite is more powerful than dynamite. It is completely burnt, and the gaseous

products of combustion are less disagreeable than those of dynamite. It does not freeze,

and its price, exclusive of the cost of cartridges, is less than dynamite. Amongst the

disadvantages are : its liquid form, unstability, corrosive action, etc.
M. W. B.
HELLHOFFITE AND COAL-LUST.
Verlialten des Rossitzer KoMenstaubes bei Sprengungen mit Hellhoffit. By RrjDoiPH

Schneider. OesterreicMsche Zeitschrift fur das Berg- und Hiltten-ivesen, 1887. Vol. XXXV.,

pp. 243-244.
The satisfactory results of the experiments with hellhoffite in relation to coal-dust and

lire-damp at Neunkirchen and Bruckenberg led to experiments being made to ascertain its

behaviour in connection with the coal-dust of Rossitz Colliery.
These experiments were made in April. 1887, in an abandoned drift 650 feet long, of

elliptic section, walled with stone and with a section of 32-3 square feet. The level was

very damp, which rendered it somewhat unsuitable for the experiments.
The shots were fired at a distance of about 164 feet from the mouth of the drift. Coal-dust

was strewed upon a horizontal board suspended by wire slings and the hellhoffite placed

upon it; wooden frames covered with coal-dust were placed in the axis of the drift, about 3

feet apart and 6| feet before and behind the board.
The results of the experiments were as follows:—
I.—A cartridge consisting of "22 pound of hellhoffite, together with 1*10 pounds of

coal-dust, were placed in a bladder distended by an explosive mixture of 10 per cent, of

fire-damp, about 2'20 pounds of coal-dust were strewed upon the horizontal board, upon

which the bladder was also placed. On the cartridge being exploded there was a - pronounced

movement of the air in the drift. A heavy piece of wood covering the access to the drift

was raised about 4 inches. No appearance of coking was observed, and it was not certain

that the coal-dust had taken any part in the explosion.
II.—"22 pound of hellhoffite and 33 pounds of coal-dust were employed; no tire-damp was

used. The explosion produced a heavy shock and forward and backward motion of the air, and

the wooden covering at the drift mouth was raised from 16 to 20 inches. A large quantity of

the coal-dust was coked. More than a yard of the rubber covering of the wire used for

igniting the explosive was burnt. The afterdamp was very dense.
III.—In this experiment, "22 pound of hellhoffite, 33 pounds of coal-dust, and lucif er

matches were suspended on a wire over about 200 feet in length of the drift. The first

cartridge did not explode, but a second one was fired successfully. The explosion produced

a heavy shock and forward and backward motion of the air, and the wooden covering was

raised about 3 feet and broken, a dense black cloud of dust was raised, and the after-damp

issued from the mouth of the drift. Several of the dust frames were broken and considerable

quantities of coke had been formed. The lucif er matches were burnt for a distance of 102

feet in front of the point of ignition and 52 feet behind it, or a total distance of 154

feet along the drift. For three-fourths of this distance they were completely burnt.
IV.—The arrangements were the same as in the last experiment. The matches were burnt for a

distance of 92 feet in front of the firing point and of 39 feet behind it, or a total

distance traversed by flame of 131 feet.
These results are somewhat remarkable, and it is probable that in a drier and more suitable

drift the explosions would have been more violent. M. W. B.
51
A NEW THEORY OF CENTRIFUGAL FANS.
JEssai d'une Theorie des Ventilateurs a, force centrifuge. By J. Heneotte. Eevue

Universelle des Mines, etc., 1887, Vol. XXII., pp. 99 to 120. Plates V. and VI.
Numerous theories have been published upon the question of centrifugal fans, the most

noteworthy being those of Messrs. Kraft and Ser, and more especially that of Mr. Daniel

Murgue.
The writer proposes to amend the theory respecting centrifugal fans, avoiding the faults of

his predecessors, and relying to a great extent upon the principal facts upon which Mr.

Murgue's theory is founded. He divides his inquiry under the following heads:—
I.—Equations of the motion of the air in the mine and in the fan.
II.—Characteristic relations of a centrifugal fan. He determines that—
Q = w R /________-________,
S/ g [(1 + u ) c + 0]
in which Q = volume of air per second; w = angular velocity of rotation ; R = diameter of

fan; 8 = weight of the unit of volume of air; a = a coefficient of the
h resistance of the mine; /3 = coefficient of the resistance of the fan; and c = q-z
in which h = the water gauge.
III.—Practical determination of the coefficients a and /3. For Guibal fans 'of ordinary

dimensions the value of these coefficients may be taken—
u= -6; and /3 = "05. IV—Useful effect of the fan—
c Fju = c (1 + a ) -T/3 ' in the case of a very large fan, /3 « 0, and the useful effect

will be at its maximum—
1
E« — y— • 1 + a
V.—Useful effect of the indicated horse-power. If F be the power lost by the friction of

the engine, which may be assumed to be proportional to the revolutions of the engine, then—
F = w tf. The value of tf may be determined if, in a single experiment, the indicated

horsepower Ti has been ascertained, because—
T, = (1 + a ) c Q3 + /3 Q3 + w tf. The useful effect of the indicated horse-power will be—
c______________
(1 +a)c + (3+^J--------r-------
VI.—Calculations of the dimensions of a fan. The required data are Q and c. The radius r of

the inner ends of the blades is usually assumed a priori, and the width of the fan should

be such as will not strangle the air in its passage through the fan.
The radius R may be ascertained from the formula—
Q = wKJg-W^V^rpY for any given value of w.
52
In the case of small fans running at a high speed, another and more complex formula must be

used in calculating the value of R.
VII.—Calculating the indicated horse-power of the engine required. The power required to

drive the fan in indicated horse-power is given by the following equation :—
75 X = c (1 + a) Q3 + /3 Q3 + w tf. If t/ = 10, a = "6, and /3 = "05, then, in the case

of an ordinary Guibal fan—
Y Q3 [1-6 c + -05] + 10 w X------------------%----------------
Example.—If 20 cubic metres (706-3 cubic feet) of air per second are to be produced under a

depression of 200 millimetres (7"874 inches) by a fan running 60 revolutions per minute,

the engine must indicate—
203 (1-6 x -5 + -05) + 64 M.
---------------=g--------------- = 92 horse-power.
For the same volume under a depression of "787 inch, only 15 indicated horsepower would be

required. M. W. B.
MINING PRODUCE OF THE DISTRICT OF DORTMUND (HANOVER, WESTPHALIA, AND RHENISH PRUSSIA)

IN 1887.
Produhtions-Ubersicht der im OberbergamtsbezirJc Dortmund im Jahre 1887, in Betrieb

geivesenen Bergwerke und Salinen. Gliiclcauf, No. 18, 1888.
A.—Coal Mines.
No. of Produce Persons
District. Collieries. in Tons.

Employed.
1.—Osnabriick ............ 7 1^3,695 939
2.—Dortmund, North ......... 6 1,003,577 3,357
3.— Do. East ......... 13 1,888,802 6,814
4_ Do. West ......... 13 2,229,564 7,586
5.—Witten............... 9 1,625,479 5,646
6.—Sprockhovel ............ 20 525,542 2,132
7.—Dahlhausen ............ 14 2,009,352 7,299
8.—Bochum ............ 11 2,915,834 9,253
9.—Heme ............ 7 2,209,032 7,131
10.—Recklinghausen............ 10 2,303,697 7,335
H.—Gelsenkirchen ............ 9 3,367,670 11,007
12.—Essen ............ 8 3,048,593 8,743
13.—Frohnhausen ............ 11 2,383,966 7,185
14.—Oberhausen ............ 15 • 3,000,903 9,653
15.—Altendorf ............ 15 963,022 3,071
16.—Werden ............ 8 373,388 1,259
Private mines ......... 176 29,972,116 98,410
Government mines......... 2 178,122 1,124
Total of 1887 ... 178 30,150,238 99,534 Do. 1886 ... 188

28,497,317 99,787
53 B.—Iron Ore Mines.
No. of Produce Persons
District. Mines. in

Tons. Employed.
1.—Osnabriick ............ 10 247,570 1,029
2.—Dortmund, North ......... 1 136,231 342
3.— Do. East ......... 3 32,763 172
5.—W.itten ............ 3 563 19
6.—Sprockhovel ............ 3 55,191 233
7.—Dahlhausen ............ l 132,834 555
16.—Werden ............ l 6,049 32
Total of 1887 ... ...... 22 611,201 2,382
Do. 1886 ......... 19 561,837 2,278
C.—Zinc Ore Mines.
No. of Produce Persons
District. Mines. in

Tons. Employed.
5.—Witten ............ l 22,917 504
6.—Sprockhovel ............ 2 686 14
16.—Werden ............ 2 12,210 484
Total of 1887 ......... 5 35,813 1,002
Do. 1886 ......... 5 34,237 1,031
D.—Lead Ore Mines.
_.. . . . No. of

Produce Persons
District. Mines. in

Tons. Employed.
5.—Witten ............... 1 198 13
16.—Werden............... 4 1,119 156
Total of 1887 ......... 5 1,317 169
Do. 1886 ......... 4 1,039 112
E.—Copperas Mines.
_.. , . No. of

Produce Persons
District. Mines. in

Tons. Employed.
1.—Osnabriick ... ... ... ... 1 386

3
4.—Dortmund, West ......... 3 850 6
6.—Sprockhovel ............ 1 8,511 40
16.—Werden ... ... ... ... 1

86 2
Total of 1887 ......... 6 9,833 51
Do. 1886 ......... 5 14,829 82
P.— Salt Works.
_.,.,. No. of

Produce Persons
District. Works. in

Tons. Employed.
1.—Osnabrtick ... ... ... ... 2 1,461

28
2.—Dortmund, North ......... 3 19,692 216
Private works ......... 5 21,153 244
Government works ...... 1 1,308 26
Total, 1887...... 6 22,461 270
Do. 1886...... 6 21,148 256
M. W. B.
h
54
A SELF-ACTING WATER TANK.
Beschreibung eines selbstioirhenden WasserJcastens. K. Baeth. Berg- und

Siitten-mcennische Zeitung, Vol. XL VII., p. 23. Illustrated in the text.
A cheap and quick method of pumping out disused pit shafts has been in use for some years

past in America.
An iron-bound wooden tank, from 3 to 4 feet high, of oblong shape, is let down into the

water by a rope leading first over a pulley above and thence to a winch near the shaft. An

iron rod passes through it at about one-third of its height and projects an inch or two

through on each side. The two iron nobs thus formed rest on parallel wooden rods which

guide the tank down into the shaft. On each of the wooden guides an iron rod, hinged at its

lower end, is held, projecting a little by means of a weight so as to form a catch for one

of the nobs before mentioned. The tank, when lowered, takes in water through two

clack-valves in the bottom. It is then raised by the winch till the nobs rest upon the

catches, when the rope is slackened and it kips its contents into a gutter beside the

shaft. A rope led through a snatch block near the winch allows the catches to be withdrawn,

and the box, already raised into a vertical position by the winch, is allowed to descend to

be refilled.
An arrangement as described can raise from 70 to 80 gallons of water per minute from a

depth of 150 fathoms, only one man being required to work it. A. R. L.
THE CATRICE APPARATUS FOR RELIGHTING LOCKED SAFETY-LAMPS.
Note sur un Systeme de Ballumage interieur des Latnpes de Surete. By L. Janet. Annates

des Mines, 1888, Ser. 8, Vol. XL, pp. 191 to 198. Plate VII.
The Catrice system of relighting lamps consists of a brass case '80 inch diameter and 1

inch high. This case is joined to a flat ring upon which a lid is fixed by a rivet. This

lid closes by sliding over the ring and is stopped by a small stud which holds it against

the ring.
A nipple is placed upon the lid, pierced with an opening by which the contrivance can be

worked; a higher projection marks the side corresponding to the outlet tube and a small

recess receives the bolt which keeps the lid closed.
A square tube of sheet iron is placed on the top of the case, and communicates -with the

interior by a circular opening of '12 inch diameter.
A spring is placed in the tube attached by the base against one of its sides. This spring,

which is flat, is roughened like a file at its upper part and presses against the side of

the tube which is also like a file.
A small tube is placed on one side of the case containing an iron wire acting as a bolt to

keep the lid of the case closed.
A small barrel, like that of a revolver, is placed so as to turn freely in the case. The

barrel is fitted with eight chambers, intended to receive small matches about "80 inch

long, the heads of which are easily ignited.
When the lamp is opened the bolt is raised a little so as to allow the lid to be turned

round and the barrel withdrawn to be filled with matches. It is replaced in the case, the

lid closed, and the bolt pushed down. The slot in the nipple upon the lid leaves two of the

chambers of the barrel uncovered, a punch is placed in one of the chambers, and the barrel

is turned round until it is under the exit tube. The punch is then pushed in sharply, and

the match passing between the roughened surfaces of the spring and the side of the tube is

ignited and lights the wick which is close to it.
The apparatus costs about Is. 6d. per lamp. M. W.

B.
55
OZOKERITE IN GALICIA.
Note sur V Ozokerite, ses Gisements, son exploitation a Boryslaw, et son Traitement

Industriel. By A. Rateatj. Annates des Mines. 1887, Vol. XL, pp. 147-170. Plate VI.
Boryslaw is a town of 20,000 inhabitants, in 49° 17' 3" latitude, twelve miles from

Drohobycz, in Galicia, and on the north slope of the Carpathians. The valley is surrounded

by small hills, not exceeding 300 feet above it, and is traversed by a small river.
The surface is covered with a few yards of diluvium. Beginning at the top, there are found

yellow clays, rolled pebbles and gravel, and plastic clay. Below this are beds about 600

feet thick of sandstone and schist, very much dislocated, of Miocene age, in which the

ozokerite is found. These Miocene rocks rest upon menelitic schist, containing petroleum,

and consisting of beds of coarse sandstone, green marl traversed by veins of calcite, of

highly coloured schists alternating with dull black schists passing gradually into thick

beds of sandstone and schist which contain no petroleum. These beds of shale and sandstone

rest upon the older Carpathian sandstones, strongly impregnated with petroleum, which is

found in greater quantities at greater depths.
The ozokerite is found in the form of thin leads or veins in the Miocene sandstones and

schists, varying from a few hundredths of an inch to some feet in thickness. It is

accompanied with variable quantities of petroleum and hydrocarbon gases. The veins, filling

the innumerable fissures of the rocks, form a complete network, but frequently follow the

bedding of the rocks.
In the central portion of the field (which is of pear-like form) the veins become more

productive with depth; but in the margins the veins are much thinner, and run out at depths

varying from 30 to 100 feet. The central and richer portion has an area of about 52 acres,

and the outer area is about 95 acres. At a depth of 650 feet the width of the richer area

has diminished from 1,150 feet to about 325 feet, which shows that the ozokerite has passed

upwards through some fracture of the lower strata.
The ozokerite rocks are also impregnated with petroleum and surrounded by petroliferous

rocks, except on the north-east side. The petroleum wells on the other sides are all

sterile below a depth of about 300 feet.
The external area contains about 2 per cent, of ozokerite, whilst the internal area

contains an average of 5 per cent.; consequently the entire field contains about 2,000,000

tons above a depth of 650 feet.
Up to the end of 1886 about 330,000 tons have been extracted, worth at least £8,000,000.

The price per ton is very variable:—
£ s. d. £ s. d.
1874-5 ......... 17 12 0
1876-7 ......... 25 12 0
1878 ......... 22 8 0 to 24 8 0
1885 ......... 24 0 0 „ 26 0 0
The annual production is about 20,000 tons, worth £480,000.
The difficulties of working are considerable. The issue of fire-damp compels the use of

safety-lamps and even causes explosions. The rocks exert great pressure upon the timber

owing to the action of the ozokerite and petroleum. Timbers a foot square are often broken

to matchwood. Another result of these pressures is the frequent and violent irruptions of

gas, petroleum, and ozokerite into the pits and galleries; and the workmen are sometimes

drowned in the fluid mass. The proportion of deaths from accidents varies from 7 to 15 per

1,000 per annum, against less than 2 per 1,000 in ordinary mines.
The ordinary method of working is to sink pits about 5 feet diameter at regular intervals.

One man works in the bottom; he drives short horizontal galleries at right
56
angles until lie finds a good vein of ozokerite. But these drifts, owing to the pressure,

are very short; about 15 feet is the maximum, which cannot be exceeded without considerable

danger. The pits, from 65 to 650 feet in depth, may yield about 20 tons of ozokerite per

annum and last from 5 to 10 years. The produce is drawn by buckets, iron or wire ropes

being used of about £ inch diameter, worked by a jack-roll. About 1,000 pits have been

sunk, of which 700 to 800 are still in operation. The whole area is pierced like a sponge.
The paper concludes with some notes on the preparation of the ozokerite for the market.

M. W. B.
MINERAL STATISTICS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.
Annual Report of the Minister of Mines for the Year ending December 31s£, 1886.
The chief mineral products are :—
Gold.
,--------------'----------------> Coal.
Value. No. of T
Dollars. Miners. xons-
1874 ...... 1,844,618 2,868 ... 81,000
1875 ...... 2,474,904 2,024 ... 110,000
1876 ...... 1,786,648 2,282 ... 139,000
1877 ...... 1,608,182 1,960 ... 154,000
1878 ...... 1,275,204 1,883 ... 171,000
1879 ...... 1,290,058 2,124 ... 241,000
1880 ...... 1,013,827 1,955 ... 268,000
1881 ...... 1,046,737 1,898 ... 228,000
1882 ...... 954,085 1,738 ... 282,000
1883 ...... 794,252 1,965 ... 213,800
1884 ...... 736,165 1,858 ... 394,070
1885 ...... 713,738 2,902 ... 365,000
1886 ...... 903,651 3,147 ... 326,636
The reports of the District Inspectors contain particulars of the principal auriferous

bars, gulches, creeks, and rivers. There are also exhaustive reports by Messrs. G. A. Koch

and A. Bowman upon the quartz reefs, with results of various analyses.
Three collieries were working during 1886, Nanaimo (Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Co.,

Limited), Wellington (R. Dunsmuir & Sons), and East Wellington (R. D. Chandler, of San

Francisco).
There are 1.269 workmen employed, including 530 Chinese. There were three fatal accidents

during 1886, two from falls of stone and one of coal.
The coal is chiefly shipped to San Francisco and other parts of California, and the
following figures show the position of the various sources of their supply:—
1883. 1884. 1885. 1886.
Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.
British Columbia ...... 128,503 291,546 224,298 253,819
Australia ......... 174,143 190,497 206,751 287,293
England and Wales...... 131,355 108,808 170,656 160,869
Scotland ......... 21,942 21,143 20,228 19,795
U.S. Eastern States...... 43,861 38,124 29,834 19,517
Seattle ......... 139,600 125,000 75,112 57,552
Carbon Hill ...... 140,135 122,060 157,241 124,527
Green River, etc....... 76,162 77,485 71,615 90,664
Benton, etc....... 43,600 60,413 67,604 73,654
899,301 1,035,076 1,023,339 1,087,690
M. W. B.
57
THE DURANT HAND-BORING MACHINE.
La Foreuse Systeme Henry Durant. Publications de la Societe des Ingenieurs sortis de VEcole

Provinciate d'Industrie et des Mines du Hainaut, 1886-7, Ser. 2, Vol. XVIII., pp. 270-72.

Plate XXIV.
This boring machine consists of a metal tube closed at both ends and containing a strong

spring between two discs or pistons, one of which receives the end of a screw passing

through the back-end of the apparatus, and the other transmits its pressure to the drill

which is consequently closely pressed against the rock to be drilled. The ¦ front cover of

the tube is used as a guide for the drill, to which a ratchet and lever is attached for the

purpose of turning the drill more or less rapidly. The machine is carried upon parallel

standards of the ordinary type.
It bores a 3^-inch hole at the rate of from 4 to 6| inches per minute, according to the

hardness of the stone.

M. W. B.
NATURAL GAS IN AMERICA.
Naturliches Gas nach Orton, Ashburner u. A. H. Winkiehner. Berg- und

Suetten-mcennistfie Zeitung, Vol. XLVII, pp. 43-45 and 53-55.
Natural or rock gas is a mixture of some seven or eight different components, which vary in

their relative proportions with the locality, time of year, temperature, and state of the

barometer. It occurs in petroleum districts, and indeed is always accompanied by petroleum

vapour, though sometimes in very small quantity. Itself the result of decomposition of

organic matter contained in a bed of stone, the petroleum in its turn develops partly into

gas, but the process is a natural one and does not depend upon volcanic influence or the

action of heat in any form, while for the production of any considerable quantity of either

substance the parent seam must contain animal or vegetable matter in considerable masses.

The gas ascends through cracks and fissures until it reaches a rock formation dense enough

to stop it," below which, provided the underlying stratum be sufficiently porous, it will

collect in large quantities. In the case of two bore-holes in Ohio the gas-bearing stratum

was a bed of chalk, rich in magnesium and only moderately porous, and the petroleum was

evidently produced in the lower part of the same bed. All the gas-bearing sandstones and

conglomerates belong to the Devonian or Carboniferous measures and form compound seams of

from 3,000 feet to 5,000 feet in thickness, the necessary close-grained ceiling being a bed

of slate of varying thickness. This is pierced by fissures which in places extend from the

gas stratum right up to the day and form natural main conduits. The importance of the

close-grained ceiling before mentioned is seen by the fact that in some other regions ¦with

the same geological features neither gas nor petroleum is found, these having been free to

make their escape as soon as formed.
Natural gas has been found by boring at depths varying from 325 feet to 4,600 feet, the

deepest boring, that at Dilworth, being 4,618 feet deep. The volume and speed of the gases

issuing from bore-holes are measured by the anemometer. The Van Buren Well, in Ohio, gives

nearly 15,000,000 cubic feet per day; the Barclay Well, in the same State, only 469,000

cubic feet; these being about the extremes. The total production per day of the wells

around Pittsburg is about 182,400,000 cubic feet; but Dr. Chance has estimated that all the

Pennsylvanian wells will be exhausted in less than eight years. The gases in the earth are

under a mean pressure of about from 300 lbs. to 400 lbs. to the square inch, in some cases

amounting to 1,000 lbs., but in others again being very much less. The principal gas-fields

are Western Pennsylvania and Northern Ohio.
The gas round Pittsburg is on the average of about 8 candle-power, that at Find-lay, Ohio,

varying from 12 to 14 candles. A comparison between the relative heating
58
powers of rock gas and coal results much in favour of the former, 30,000 cubic feet of the

gas being equivalent to one ton of coal, and when the enormous volume given off by one

bore-hole is considered the great saving due to the use of the newer fuel will be apparent.

At the end of the year 1885 natural gas was employed around Pittsburg by 46 iron companies,

33 glass-making companies, in 9 petroleum refineries and 2,637 private houses, and the

daily quantity used was estimated at about 182,400,000 cubic feet, equivalent to 6,800 tons

of coal. In one glass-works in Pittsburg the employment of natural gas in place of coal

showed a saving of 46 per cent. The gas of Pittsburg is in the hands of six different

companies. It is supplied in unlimited quantities, payment being regulated in the case of

ironworks, etc., by the number of furnaces, the quantities of material worked, or the

number of boilers heated by it, and in the case of private houses a fixed rate per month is

levied. The cost is comparatively small; but people in America are not blind to the

prospect given them by geologists that the gas wells will very soon all be exhausted.

A. R. L.
DEEPENING SHAFTS.
Nouveau procede d'Enfoncement sous stot applique au Puits S.-Adolphe de la Societe Anonyme

des Charbonnages de Haine-S.-Pierre et la Hestre. Societe des Ingenieurs sortis de I'Ecole

provinciate a"Industrie et des Mines du Uainaut, 1886-7, Ser. 2, Vol. XVIIL, pp. 216-231.

Plates XV, XVI, XVIL, XVIII.
The S.-Adolphe Pit, which was 984 feet deep, required to be extended to a depth of 1,246

feet, without stopping coal-drawing.
An inclined pit, about 8 degs. from the vertical, was sunk alongside the drawing shaft at a

depth of 984 feet, until its axis met that of the shaft and it was then continued

vertically downwards.
The stones were drawn by means of a small steam engine at the surface, whose 1-inch wire

rope was led down the side of the pit, clear of the cages; at about 33 feet above the

hanging on, the rope was diverted by two pulleys into the line of the inclined pit, whence

it passed into the vertical position required for the sinking of the pit. This was effected

by passing the rope over a pulley supported upon a carriage running upon flat-bottomed

rails.
This carriage has four wheels, running upon the rail guides, supports a deep-grooved

pulley, and weighs about 450 pounds. The rope runs upon this pulley and passes immediately

through a hole in a strong balk attached to the carriage. A spiral spring is placed over

the end of the rope so as to reduce the shocks.
When the tub is at the bottom of the pit the carriage is at the lower end of the guides and

the rope passes over the pulley vertically down the pit. As the tub is drawn upwards the

spring strikes the buffer and pushes up the carriage, below which the tub hangs in a

vertical position until it reaches the 984-feet level, where it is stopped and replaced by

an empty tub. The carriage follows the descent of the empty tub until it stops at the end

of the guides, whence it passes the rope vertically down the pit.
The plates give working plans of all the various details. M. W. B.
THE NAPHTHA DISTRICT BEYOND THE CASPIAN.
Ueber das transkaspische Naphtaterrain. By Db. Hj. Sjo&een. Jahrbuch der
k. Jc. geol. Reichsanstalt, XXXVII. Band, I Heft, pp. 47-62. A map and
sections in the text. Vienna, June, 1887.
The richest naphtha producing areas in the Caucasus are at either end of the
mountain range, and supposing this chain to be prolonged in a north-westerly and
south-easterly direction, then it would cover, west of the Black Sea, the Galician and
59
Moldavian naphtha districts, and east of the Caspian the corresponding groups of Tjeleken,

Neftanaja Gora, and Buja Dagh. It is worthy of note that whilst Caucasian naphtha contains

little, if any, paraffin, and is unaccompanied by mineral wax, the contrary holds good in

the last mentioned areas.
The author was unable to visit the island of Tjeleken, and he passes on at once to the

description of the Neftanaja Gora or Naphtha Hill. To reach this place the best starting

point is the station of Bala Ischem, on the Transcaspian Railway, about 37 miles from the

present terminus at Michailowski Salif, and 6 miles south of the Great Balchan, a range

rising in a perpendicular wall 5,500 feet above the sea level. The Great Balchan is made up

of light grey, compact, unfossiliferous limestones alternating with marls; in some debris

at its foot fragments of Belemnites of undetermined species have been found, and on the

neighbouring steppe shells of Cardium are abundant. For reasons based on the general

geology of Transcaucasia, the author seems inclined to refer both the Great Balchan and the

Little Balchan (3,200 feet) to the chalk formation. From Bala Ischem a tramway, 21 miles

long, has been laid to the Neftanaja Gora. For two-thirds of the distance it runs through a

salt desert, where layers of pure salt more than 6 inches thick are found close to the

surface of the ground.
The Neftanaja Gora rises barely 300 feet above the level of the steppe and extends for

about a mile from south-west to north-east; northwards and southwards it is flanked by low

hills, and its general structure is that of an irregular anticlinal, the dips to the north

varying between 25 degs. and 44 degs., those to the south between 7 degs. and 9 degs. The

main mass of the hill consists of grey and brown clays and sands; but its eastern summit,

210 feet above the boring towers, is made up of a hard, dark brown, conglomeritic sandstone

and similar rocks form the south-western summit. There is good reason for referring this

area to the Miocene formation. Particular stress is laid on the unsymmetrical structure of

the anticlinal; the asphalte, mineral wax, and naphtha are found on the steeper or

northerly slope, and this tends to show that the distortion and fracture of the underlying

strata produced rifts which formed natural conduits for gaseous and liquid substances.
In a south-west to north-east line along the ridge occur the springs from which issue

brine, naphtha, and carburetted hydrogen gas. The temperatures mentioned vary between 19

degs. and 21 degs. C. The mineral wax which comes to the surface in small lumps, in

conjunction with the naphtha, is coffee- or chocolate-brown in colour, possesses an

aromatic odour, and can be kneaded with the fingers. Large quantities of the wax are

supposed to be present at some depth below the surface. Many of the springs lie in craters

hollowed out in small cones built up of asphalte, and the asphalte not only covers a large

portion of the ridge but extends along the north-western spur exactly like an old lava

flow. The Russian mining engineer, Konschin, drove a few shafts, 30 feet deep, about here,

in the hope of tapping the main source of the mineral wax, but a great inrush of water and

gas defeated his attempt. It is true that a few " veins " of wax were met with, but not in

paying quantities. Prince Eristoff unsuccessfully worked the surface deposits of asphalte

with the same object, and the sulphur workings which he initiated a little further west

were also abandoned as not being worth the labour which they entailed. In a word, both at

the Neftanaja Gora and at Tjeleken, all endeavours to foster a wax mining industry have

failed.
South of Bala Ischem, between the Neftanaja Gora and the Buja Dagh, are numerous traces of

naphtha springs, and an old river bed can be traced, filled with crystals of gypsum, which

no doubt crystallized out from the mother liquors of the old salt lakes. The Buja Dagh

rises about 500 feet above the surrounding steppe; it is about 6 miles long and 2 broad,

and is distant 19 miles from Aidin station on the Transcaspian Railway, and 25 miles from

Bala Ischem. It forms a regular anticlinal, the dips at either extremity varying between 30

degs. and 40 degs. The Dagh is built up
60
of shales and sandstones: the latter crown its summit in curious isolated pillars, or

alternate with the shales in excessively thin layers. There are here two warm brine springs

(temperature 54degs. C), containing, it would seem, a fair proportion of iron, and very

concentrated. Black asphalte-like naphtha occurs in unimportant quantities in some

neighbouring springs. No asphalte deposits have been discovered on the Buja Dagh, and there

is little hope of finding workable quantities of naphtha at a reasonable depth below the

surface. L. L. B.
EXTRACTION OF GOLD BY CALCIUM CHLOEIDE.
JernJcontorets Annate, 1887, page 127.
The ore is roasted if necessary and ground to a fine powder, together with a little salt.

This mixture is roasted in reverberatory furnaces until the sulphides, arsenides, and

antimonides are decomposed. It is then teamed into wooden tubs, and treated with hot water,

to wash out the copper and silver salts and oxides. The mass is then treated with a

solution of "006 to "007 of calcium chloride in water, mixed with an equal volume of

hydrochloric acid, of L002 to F003 density, until a sample of the solution gives no gold

reaction when tested with an acidulated solution of stannic chloride. The solution

containing the gold is heated in wooden bowls by steam to a temperature of 160 degs. Fah.,

and precipitated by means of ferrous sulphate, sodium sulphide or sulphurous acid, a small

quantity of plumbum acetate being added during the precipitation to ensure all the gold

being thrown down.
This process has been employed at the Falee copper works in Sweden since 1885 for the

treatment of tailings from 29,000 tons of copper ore, together With 1,500 tons of gold ore.
In 1886 the tailings from 14,000 tons of copper ore contained 41'82 grains of gold per ton

before treatment and 4'04 grains of gold per ton after treatment. The costs per ton being

:—¦
s. d.
Calcium chloride, 6"6 pounds ......... 0 5
Sulphuric acid, 8'37 „ ... ... ... 0 1
Lead acetate and reagents ... ... ... ... 0 Of
Fuel for steam ... ... ... ... ... 0 1|
Labour ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 1
Total......... ... 0 9
In the same year 960 tons of gold ore contained 523-62 grains of gold per ton, and after

treatment 6"02 grains per ton. The costs per ton being:—
s. d.
Calcium chloride, 33 "0 pounds ... ... ... 2 Of
Sulphuric acid, 44-0 „ ... ... ... 05
Lead acetate and reagents............ 0 6f
Salt, 176-3 pounds ............... 1 9|
Coal, 187-4 „ ............... 1 6|
Wood..................... 1 8£
Wood for steam ... ... ... ... ... 0 3|
Labour .................. 3 11
Total ............ 12 2-|
M. W. B.
63
MAMMALIAN REMAINS IN STYR1AN COAL.
Nieite Funde tertiarer Saiigethierreste ans der Kohle des Labitschberges bei Gamlilz. By

Ad. Hofmann. Verhandlungen der k. h. geol. Reichsanstalt, No. 15, p. 284. Vienna, November,

1887.
After alluding to one or two previous finds of mammalian teeth in the coal at Gamlitz, the

author proceeds to enumerate and describe briefly the fossils lately discovered there,

consisting of teeth and jawbones of Cervus, Palaeomeryx, Syaemoschus, and Syotherium.

L. L. B.
SULPHUR AT TRUSKAWIEC.
ZTeber das Schtoefelvorlcommen bei TrusTcawiec. By Josef Wyczynski. Verhandlungen der Tc.

k. geol. Reichsanstalt, No. 13, pp. 249-250. Vienna, October, 1887. With a section in

the text.
It is in conjunction with ozokerite that the sulphur seems to occur. The hanging wall and

the foot wall are formed by a grey, impermeable clay, often including large blocks of marl,

in which are druses lined with well-developed sulphur crystals. In the clay the sulphur is

found in single crystals of varying size, or in thick-grown clusters of crystals. Whether

this deposit is a bed or a lode cannot as yet be determined, because the clay which

surrounds it is a compact mass, with, seemingly, no particular strike or dip. The terms "

hanging " and " foot wall" really apply to the ozokerite, which cuts through the clay in

numerous lodes. With the ozokerite and sulphur, gypsum and aragonite are frequently found,

celestine and rock salt more rarely.
L. L. B.
THE TERTIARY COALS OF CARINTHIA.
Die Neogen- Formation in Karnten. By Ferd. Seeland. Verhandlungen der Tc. Jr. geol.

Reichsanstalt, No. 13, pp. 252-254. Vienna, October, 1887.
The Neogene beds of Carinthia contain deposits of bright-faced coal and lignite, varying in

thickness from 3 feet to 25 feet, over a large extent of country. The bright-faced coal,

which is the older deposit, is best developed at the Liescha mine; the lignite attains its

maximum development at the Penken mine near Keutschach. In both cases the underlying clay

is largely worked for furnace-resisting pottery and fire-bricks. The fossil flora includes

palms, fig-trees, and other subtropical plants. L. L. B.
TEMPERATURE OF THE ARLBERG TUNNEL.
Die Wdrmeverhaltnisse in der Osthalfte des Arlbergtunnels. By C. J. Wagner. Verhandlungen

der k. Tc. geol. Reichsanstalt, No. 8, pp. 185-186. Vienna, May, 1887.
A small hole, about 3 feet deep, was drilled in the rock in a sort of niche, 3 miles from

the eastern entrance to the tunnel; and the temperature there observed in January,

1885,1886, and 1887, fell from 15"3 degs. C. in the first-named year to 14"7 degs. C. in

the last-named. The temperature of the air in the tunnel fluctuated between 12 degs. and 16

degs. C. Since the completion of the boring of the tunnel in May, 1884, the temperature of

the rock -wall has fallen 3-8 degs. C. L. L. B.
i
e>2
BOULDERS IN UPPER SILESIAN COAL.
Finschliisse von gerbllartiger Form aus SteinTcohlenflotzen von Ober- Schlesien. By Dr. G.

Gurich. Verhandlungen der h. Tc. geol. Meichsanstalt, No. 2, pp. 43-45. Vienna, February,

1887.
The author describes the stones hitherto found, which seem to be chiefly rolled fragments

of granitic rocks (thus disposing of Stur's theory that they were simply concretions), and

he mentions two cases in which the stones lie at right angles to the bedding plane of the

coal, as if they had sunk through a yet soft vegetable mass.
L. L. B.
AGE OP THE FUNFKIRCHEN COAL.
Fin neuer Cephalopode aus der Kohlenablagerung von Fiinfkirchen. By D. Stub. Verhandlungen

der Tc. Tc. geol. Beichsanstalt, No. 9, pp. 197-198. Vienna, June, 1887.
Thanks to the discovery of an Ammonite, belonging to the Arietites obtusus group, in the

Coal-Measures of Fiinfkirchen (Styria), the author is now able to rank those beds

unhesitatingly with the Lower Lias. He declines to consider the coal in question as a

lignite, because the plant remains of which it is made up are not the same as the ordinary

constituents of lignite, but are Calamites (sic), Fquisetites, ferns, etc.
L. L. B.
CONCRETIONS WITH PLANTS IN WESTPHALIAN COAL.
TJeber den neuentdecTcten Fundort und die Lagerungsverhaltnisse der pflanzenfiili-renden

Dolomitconcretionen im tvestphalischen SteinTcohlengebirge. By D. Stur. Verhandlungen der

Tc. Tc. geol. Meichsanstalt, No. 12, pp. 237-243. Vienna, September, 1887.
The existence of concretions in the Westphalian Coal-Measures, containing plants similar to

those described by W. C. Williamson, as occurring also in concretions in the Yorkshire

Coal-Measures, had long been ascertained; but the fragmentary condition of the plants found

in Germany, and the uncertainty as to their horizon, had, up till quite recently, hindered

in that country the further study of the subject.
In June, 1887, Mining Councillor Nasse of Dortmund brought forward the following facts at a

General Meeting of the Natural History Society of the district. Eight or nine years

previously dolomitic concretions had been discovered in the coal at Langendreer, containing

Sigillaria, Stigmarla, Lyginodendron, Lepidodendron, Cordaites, Sphenophyllum, and ferns.

These plant remains were examined microscopically, and found to be practically identical

with those occurring in concretions in the lowest beds of the Yorkshire coal-bearing

strata. In 1883, in a seam at Peters-wald, concretions of spathic iron ore had been found,

containing similar plant remains; and now in 1887, Nasse had seen at the Hansa mine

dolomitic concretions in the form of kidney and ball-shaped nodules, varying in size from

"a hazel nut to a child's head," also enclosing plants. The Katharina seam, where they

occur, occupies a central position in the vertical section of the Westphalian coal-bearing

strata, and about 3 feet above it there is a clay slate containing pyrites-covered

impressions of Aviculopecten papyraceus. Herr Nasse considers that these beds are of the

same age as the Ostrau strata, containing bog iron ore concretions, and he correlates the

latter partly, if not entirely, with the Schatzlar or Saarbruek Coal-Measures.
63
The author of this paper disagrees with him in toto, and, after referring to journeys

formerly undertaken in Westphalia and Belgium in connection with this very subject, he

proceeds to correlate the beds as follows:—
Dolomitic concretions of the x ,.¦,-'. , ,
„ ,, . . , ,. | Aviculopecten papyraceus

beds of
Katharina coal-seam, and lime- I / ,f, . , „ .

,
,. „ ,-.,•,, >- = Westphalia, Belgium, and England
stone concretions of Oldham { ,« , ^ , , , ,
, „ ... I (bchatzlar beds),
and Haliiax J
III.—Meagre Culm Fauna of the 5th
group of seams of the Ostrau beds.
} II.—Culm Marine Fauna of the 1st,
Bog iron ore concretions of the I = ^ md ^ ^^ q£ ^ 0gtrau
0sfcraubcds ) beds, and of Belgium.
I.—Culm Marine Fauna of the Posi-donomya Becheri slates of Middle Silesia, and of the

Carboniferous limestone (with Productus gigan-teus) in Lower Silesia, Belgium, etc. L. L.

B.
GOLD (?) ON THE RIO CUBANGUI.
A expedicao ao Cubango. By Lieut. A. de Paiva. Boletim da Sociedade de OeograpMa de Lisboa,

la Serie No. 2, 1887, pp. 116 and 127-128. With three maps.
In 1885-86 the author was commissioned by the Portuguese Government to undertake a military

expedition and exploration in certain little-known districts of Eastern Benguela. He

devotes, in his report, scant space to matters of geological interest; but he mentions

twice the fact, that on the banks of the Cubangui, particularly near its mouth, there

abounds a granitic gneiss, rich in mica, whose particles, disaggregated by the running

water, shine on the sandy shore with the yellow lustre of gold. Further up the river the

particles of this same gneiss flash yet more brilliantly from the sand, but they are

colourless. Near the confluent of the Cubangui and the Cahonga, the soil, of a rich red

colour, is overlaid by black sand, possessing a metallic lustre, which the author compares

to that of iron filings. L. L. B.
SPIRALLY-WELDED TUBING.
By J. C. Bayles. The Engineering and Mining Journal [New York"], 1888, Vol. XLV., pp.

250-252, 270-271, and one Plate.
Serviceable pressure pipes of great strength are manufactured from strips of iron or steel

wound spirally, heated only along the overlapping edges, welded by hammering and finished

into tubes of uniform diameter and of suitable lengths.
The ordinary sheet iron or steel of commerce is slit into bands of the width most

convenient for the production of the desired diameter of pipe. This is done by an ordinary

rotary shear provided with a table and a guide. The wider the bands or skelps, the faster

the pipe is made. As the sheets are usually not more than 12 feet long, the ends are united

by lap welding if long pipes are desired. To make a 6-inch pipe, 30 feet long, of 12-inch

skelp, a ribbon about 49 feet long is required. The ends of the skelp are united by a

machine known as a cross-welder.
64
The pipe machine, covering ahout 3 feet by 6 feet of floor space, is of simple

construction. The reel carrying the skelp is placed in position and one end of the ribbon

is placed upon the guide table, which is set at an angle due to the width of skelp and the

diameter of the finished pipe. The sheet is carried between feed rolls geared together,

actuated by a ratchet giving tbem an intermittent rotation, and a feed variable between

j^th inch and |th inch at each impulse. This carries it into the forming jaws, which bend

it to the desired curvature, by pinching the metal in curved jaws. The feed rolls pass it

forward when the hammer is raised and are at rest when the hammer falls; a " former " is

used to curve the metal to the required radius, a furnace to heat the metal, a hammer to

weld it, and an anvil to support the pipe and receive the hammer blows. No mandrel is used;

the pipe in the forming process is held in a pipe mould, a cylindrical shell within which

the pipe rotates as the stock is fed in. The anvil is of considerable mass, steel faced,

and extends the entire width of the skelp. The hammer is light and strikes about 160 blows

per minute. The heating is done in a furnace, constructed so as to heat both the edges to

be united for the space of several inches ahead of the point at which the welding is

effected. The upper skelp enters the furnace flat, and the lower skelp curved, having

already been through the forming jaws. The heat is imparted by one or two blow-pipes of

water-gas and air discharging upon the metal through passages of suitable form in the

refractory lining of the furnace. About 30 feet of gas are burned per foot of welded seam,

and about 1 foot of pipe is produced per minute on the average.
The machines are almost automatic, and the operator has the gas, air, and feed under

control by convenient means. Unskilled labour prepares the stock and removes the finished

product. The machines produce pipes from 4 to 30 inches in diaineter, and from plates of 29

to 8 Birmingham gauge. M. W. B.
ORE SORTING.
By V. L. Bartlett. The Engineering and Mining Journal [New York'], 1888, Vol, XLV., pp.

268-270, and Plate.
In opening the Milan mine in 1882, it was found desirable to produce pyrites in a very pure

form. The run of the mine was a mixture of cupriferous iron pyrites, very massive, with

rich copper ores, zinc-blende, and galena. More or less slate and quartz had to be guarded

against. It was essential that clean separations of the ore should be made, pyrites if sold

for acid making must be free from zinc and lead, and comparatively free from copper.

Further, the galena was rich in silvei*. and the better copper ore was abundant and

suitable for smelting on the spot.
The following scheme for sorting has proved a perfect success :—
A Blake crusher was erected, with a jaw opening 10 inches by 17 inches, and set to crush at

2-inch gauge. A link belt elevator raised the crushed ore some 16 feet, and discharged it

at the upper end of an inclined shaking table. The table proper is 52 inches wide and 18

feet long. The upper end has a punched steel screen, 30 inches wide and 4 feet long, with

^-inch holes. The remaining 14 feet of the table is divided longitudinally into troughs or

shoots, by means of No. 14 sheet-iron, screwed to the wooden frame of the table. The main

shoot is 18 inches wide, and there are three on each side, each 5 inches wide. The shoots

end over a set of bins, which are placed just outside the building and directly over the

tramway track, so that cars can be placed under any of the bins, and any of them, by

pulling a slide, discharged into the car.
At the upper end of the table is the shaft, with eccentrics at each end having a thrust of

3 inches, and connecting rods which take hold of the table at about 6 feet
65
from the upper end. A fixed pulley on the shaft gives motion to the table ; another pulley

runs loose on the shaft and lias a pin-clutch connecting with the sprocket-wheel which

carries the elevator. The lower end of the table strikes against two strong rubber buffers

on the downward stroke for the double purpose of easing the motion and jarring the ore

along the table. The table is set at an angle of 1 in 9, and the motion is about 200

oscillations per minute. The elevator is run at six revolutions per minute. A 2-inch pipe,

with a row of ^-inch holes on each side, is placed above the screen at the upper end of the

table, for the purpose of washing the ore as it passes along underneath. A tank 6 feet

wide, 8 feet long, and with sides 2 feet high, is placed on the ground and immediately

under the screen. A large sheet-iron spout directs the water and fine ore passing through

the screen into the tank. A platform is placed along each side of the machine for the men

or boys to stand upon.
In working, the crushed ore is delivered by the elevator upon the screen at the upper end

of the table, and is washed by the water-jets. The fine stuff goes through the screen into

the tank below, while the coarse ore travels along by successive hitches towards the lower

end of the table. Boys stand on either side, the fingers protected by steel thimbles, and

sort the ore as it passes along. Waste rock goes into the first trough at each side; the

other troughs carry respectively galena, copper, and zinc, and the thoroughly cleaned

pyrites continue down the central shoot. A bright boy learns to sort in a week, and some

become surprisingly expert. About ten boys can work at a table, but it is rare to employ

more than four or five.
The amount of ore handled upon a table depends upon the quality. With half rock and half

ore, 5 tons per hour is good work; with cleaner ores, 7 to 10 tons have been run. The

average over some years is 75 to 80 tons per day of ten hours.
It costs 3s. l|d. per ton for hand work to break and sort; it now costs 7^d. by the use of

the crusher and the automatic table.
In working the table, it has been customary to run in the central shoot whatever was in the

greatest proportion in the ore. If more than half rock, the ore was put in the side shoots,

and vice versa if the ore was in excess. The jerking of the table constantly turns the ore;

and if a powerful stream of water be employed, it is completely washed, and there is no

difficulty in detecting by the eye the differences in kind and quality.

M. W. B.
HENDERSON STEEL.
Engineering and Mining Journal [New Yor¥], 1888, Vol. XLV.,p. 249.
The first trial was with Birmingham (Alabama) white pig, with ore and fluor-spar on a raw

dolomite hearth composed of fluor-spar and dolomite, which lasted until near the close of

the operation, when it melted and passed through the metal. The dolomite analysis is :—
Carbonate of lime ... ... ... ... 59'8
Carbonate of magnesia ... ... ... 39'2
Silica.................. -34
Protoxide of iron ... ... ... ... -14
and is quarried on the premises. The pig iron cost £2 per ton, and the ore 2s. 8id. per

ton on cars at the mine.
The steel produced is superior tool steel, said to be equal to Musshets, which sells for

2s. per lb. The analysis is:—
Carbon ... ... ... ... ... ... "75
Silicon.................. -009
Phosphorus ............... -0051
Manganese ... ... ... ... ... trace.
66
The superior quality of the steel produced is attributed to the use of fluor-spar, which,

although no fluorine can be detected in the metal, gives the property of toughness to a

surprising degree. Some stay-bolt iron gave 45 per cent, elongation, or over three times

that usual in good ordinary puddled iron.
Another trial was made on a calcined dolomite and fluor-spar hearth with pig and scrap

steel and ore with less fluor-spar for soft steel. Five per cent, of spiegeleisen was used,

as there was no ferro-manganese at hand. The steel analysed:—
Carbon.................. -20
Manganese ... ... ... ... ... "78
Phosphorus ... ... ... ... ... "005
This made a first-class steel for boiler plates, although the pig iron contained '3286 per

cent, of sulphur.
There were about 200 pounds of slag per ton of steel, which analysed:— Metallic iron as

peroxide... ... ... 8-1900
Silica ............... 29*2500
Sulphur ............... -0950
Phosphorus ............ 11035
The pig iron and ore contained about 13*5 lbs. of phosphorus, and *7 lb. was left in the

steel; the difference, about 10"75 lbs., was volatilized. About 250 lbs. of iron ore was

used, containing 45 per cent, of metallic iron, so that 85 per cent, of it was incorporated

with the charge.
It is proposed to attach condensers to the furnaces and obtain the volatile phosphorus in

the gases after they have been cooled under a boiler, by forcing them into water just above

freezing point, and thus produce hydrous phosphoric acid of any required strength. The

slag produced by this process is valueless as manure.
Calcined dolomite mixed with 10 per cent, of fluor-spar makes a durable lining, and that on

the bottom where it is not acted upon by the silicates in the slag, which obtain in the pig

and ore process, is not perceptibly worn after 54 hours' use, the time taken by a pig and

ore heat; but the slag line at the side requires renewal after each heat, owing to the

silica and oxide of iron fluxing a portion away. With melts or casts containing about

one-fourth steel or iron scrap and three-fourths pig, no ore is used, but dolomite and

fluor-spar in equal proportions. These enable a melt to be taken every three hours, and

there is scarcely any perceptible wear to the sides of the hearth lining.
In making the side or repairing the slag line the pulverised dolomite and fluor-spar have a

little soda added to facilitate setting, and are mixed into a mortar with water containing

15 per cent, of molasses.
The process is carried out in two chambers; the second or refining chamber, in which the

iron is melted and refined of its silicon and half its carbon, and then poured into the

first chamber. The refining chamber is lined with sand, and the metal is purified of

silicon and carbon by the aid of phosphoric iron ore. The metal gains one-fourth of the

phosphorus from this ore, and about three-fourths of the phosphorus is vapourized and

collected in the condensers. The metal when introduced into the first or finishing chamber

will be in the condition of high carbon steel, plus the phosphorus, and will be reduced to

soft steel free of phosphorus. The operations require about three hours in the second

chamber and about two hours in the first chamber.
It is suggested that the phosphoric ores of Alabama should be mixed together in proportions

to yield pig iron containing 3| per cent, of phosphorus, which may be recovered as hydrous

phosphoric acid, and worth about £3 per ton of steel for fertilizing purposes. White pig

iron costs £1 13s. per ton. The steel would then be made free of cost.

M.W.B.
67
THE GEOLOGY OP TIMOR. Gesteine von Timor. By Prof. A. WlCHMANN. JaarloeJc van het

Mijnwezen in Nederlandsch Oost-Indie, Wetenschappelijh, Ite Gedeelte, pp. 46, 83-90, 92,

93. Amsterdam, April, 1887.
Since the Dutch Expedition of 1829, no European has travelled into the interior of Timor

farther than the Copper River, and the petrographical description and chemical analyses of

the rocks of that island, given by the author, are based on specimens collected in the

above-mentioned year. Evidence has, however, been gradually accumulating as to the mineral

wealth of the island. Gold is found in the beds of many of its rivers, as in the Sungi Mas,

or Gold River, and the auriferous sands are washed for the metal. Native copper is found in

the Sungi Lojang, or Copper River, and in small quantities elsewhere, furnishing material

for a small export trade. Ores of the metal, such as cuprite, redruthite, malachite, and

azurite, occur near Oisu and Atapupu. The occurrence of chrome iron ore, iron glance,

pyrolusite, lead in the native state (sic), gypsum, and sulphur has also been noted. All

attempts to foster a systematic copper-mining industry have hitherto failed.
The author discusses at some length the question of the existence of volcanoes on the

island, and he subjoins a complete list of the earthquakes known to have occurred there

from 1638 to 1884.

L. L. B.
MINING PROSPECTS IN NORTH-WEST SUMATRA. Topographische en geologische Beschrijving van het

noordelijk Gedeelte van het Gouvemement Sumatra's Westhust. By R. Fennema. Jaarooeh

van het Mijnwezen in Nederlandsch Oost-Indie, Wetenschappelijh; IIte Gedeelte, pp. 244-252,

with a Geological Map and Sections. Amsterdam, 1887.
That portion of the above paper which forms the subject of this abstract is preceded by a

detailed topographical and geological description of the North-Western districts of

Sumatra.
The Simpang Datar gold mine, described by former travellers, has long been abandoned, but

in the Post-Tertiary alluvia placers are worked by the natives at many points, and the

river sands are also washed for gold. The most promising spots are those where fragments

from the older slate formation predominate; on the other hand, where fragments from the

granite are more numerous, the gold yield is poor. It seems probable that the milk-white

quartz, which, the natives aver, is always found accompanying the gold, is in fact the

matrix of the precious metal. Whether these deposits could be profitably worked by a

European company is a question which cannot be answered with certainty. If the processes

now used in the district were employed, bearing in mind that wages per man per day would be

at the very lowest 40 cents (= 10d.), the undertaking would not pay.
Coal is found in Eocene strata on the Bay of Tapanoelie, in the district of Soeliki, and in

the river basins of the Si Lai and the Asip. Asip coal, according to the specimen analysed,

yields 64-9 per cent, of coke, 4*3 per cent, of ash, and 403 per cent, of water. These coal

deposits are of small importance, and the same statement holds good of the early Tertiary

lignites of the Niboeng.
In the diluvium near Kota Poenkoet, fragments of quartz with copper pyrites and malachite

have been found, and the occurrence of iron glance and magnetite is reported from other

places. Lead ore and sulphur were formerly worked by the natives; but the presence of tin

in this part of Sumatra seems to be a mere tradition.
With the exception of gold, it is certain that none of the minerals mentioned are to be

found in paying quantities, and even were the deposits richer, they could not be worked at

a profit on account of the expense and difficulties of transport, the scarcity of fuel, and

the unfitness of the native labourers for systematic toil. L. L. B.
68
VENTILATING MACHINE.
Eapport sur les appareils de ventilation et d'humidification de la Compagnie Francaise de

ventilation. Bulletin de la Societe Industrielle du Nord de la France, No. 58, 1887, pp.

38-41.
Ventilation accomplished by revolutions of wheel, which draws out the vitiated, or draws in

fresh air, according to direction of rotation. Moisture is supplied by jets of water

playing against plates, and thereby vapourized. The machine takes up little room, and

displaces from 14,000 to 170,000 cubic feet of air per hour according to size. It is worked

by water. G.

W. B.
AN AUTOMATIC FEEDING PUMP.
Mapport sur la Pompe alimentaire Daussin. Bulletin de la Societe Industrielle da Nord de

la France, No. 58, 1887, pp. 29, 30.
The suction valve of the pump is connected by rods and levers to a float placed in a

reservoir where the level of the water is the same as in the generator. As long as it is at

the normal level, or above it, the valve remains half-open, and the supply ceases; when the

water falls below the normal the supply commences automatically by the action of the float

on the valve. Said to work satisfactorily, and has been awarded a medal by the society.

G. W. B.
ON THE ORES OF COBALT, CHROMIUM, AND IRON OF NEW
CALEDONIA.
•Gisements de Cobalt, de Chrome, et de Fer de la Nouvelle-Caledonie, et leur emploi

industriel. By M. J. Gabnieb. Comptes Eendus, Societe des Ingenieurs civils, Jan. 21, 1887,

pp. 26-28.
The ores are met with in the state of oxides.
The cobalt ore is the black oxide of cobalt. It contains up to 14 per cent, of the oxide of

the metal, along with a large proportion of manganese.
Chromium is the most abundant metal in the country, except iron. It occurs along with iron

in conglomerates and in decomposed serpentines.
The shore in the south is formed of chrome ironstone mixed with sand. The ore contains

before washing 42 per cent, of sesquioxide of chromium, with a little wolfram.
Iron ore is very abundant; the soil itself is often formed of an ore, valuable from the

absence of phosphorus.

G. W. B.
A SPECIAL GRATE FOR USING POOR FUELS.
Foyer special pour Vutilisation des combustibles pauvres. By M. Georges Alexis-Godixlot.

Bulletin de la Societe Industrielle du Nord de la France, No. 58, 1887, pp. 75-80.
To lessen the difficulty of combustion a special grate, the Grille-Pavilion, has been

devised. It consists of a grate in the form of a half-cone resting on a horizontal one. The

fuel is placed in a hopper in front of the furnace and pushed on to the apex of the

half-cone by the revolutions of a screw. The rate of these revolutions can be regulated so

as to supply the fuel.
In this way the fuel is dried before reaching the fire, while the form of the grate is such

that nothing but fine ash escapes through it.
C>9
The advantages claimed for the furnace are:—
(1) Methodical combustion.
(2) No loss of fuel among the ashes.
(3) Better regulation of draught.
(4) Less chance of fire.
(5) Work of furnacemen simplified and made healthier.
(6) Grate easily cleaned.
(7) Consumption of smoke perfect.
(8) Refuse materials hitherto considered of no value can be utilised. The description is

accompanied by a transverse section of the furnace.
The table shows the results in steam produced by various kinds of fuel in different species

of boilers.
Tbials made with Godillot's Ftjrnace.
¦g 4> Boiler used. a.P
¦g.S m a .3 . .gS
Kind of Material used. sjsj?

'¦§ « ilS ^Stf
MT3T3 go OS

"S^
¦g|S Types. WtJ ?»!^
|"a 3£ Sfl : |1
Sq. Ft. Lbs. Lbs.
Sawdust and shavings from ) , „ nn m ¦, ¦> A . . ODr>

-n i »
. . , , b > 13-36 Tubular, two heaters 882 11|

7
joiners shops )

4
Dried tanyard refuse......55 Semi-tubular ... 484 11| 4
Moist chips from dye works ... 623 Semi-tubular ... 1,076 12| 3
Waofeflfx°m thG Stl*ipping} 29-5 Tubular, two heaters 882 111 6 Fir tree

sawdust ......33-75 Multi-tubular ... 2,292 12$ 5£
Waste from the stripping of I 1Q.59 Tubular, two heaters 882 10 7 ramie

{Boehmeria nivea) ) '
______________________________________________________
G. W. B.
METHOD OF CLEARING A MINE OF FIRE-DAMP.
Propede Aroud pour Vexpulsion du grisou. Comptes-Bendus de la Societe de VIndustrie

Minerals, 1887, pp. 238-243.
By this method the fire-damp is collected by a system of tubes at the moment of its

disengagement from the fresh surface of the coal, and transported outside the underground

works without being allowed to mix with the interior air.
The system may bo made the basis of the general airing of the mine, or used along with one

of the ordinary methods employed.
In the former case the object is to lead into the mine enough air for respiration, and to

withdraw fire-damp in such proportion as to diminish chance of explosion.
The collecting tubes lead into a general conductor tube, and the gas is drawn out by

aspiration.
System criticised unfavourably by M. Buisson. G. W. B.
J
70
NEW PROCESS FOR THE EXTRACTION OF COPPER.
Traitement electrique des Minerals ou des Mattes de cuivre. By M. Le Verrier.

Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de VIndustrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 3-6.
Marchese's process. The copper is precipitated by electrolysis in a bath of sulphate. The

cathodes are of pure copper, the anodes of the melted and cast materials from which the

metal is to be extracted.
Has been applied to extract copper from the accessory products resulting from the reduction

of complex silver ores. About a third of this material is melted, and cast into plates for

the anodes• the rest is used for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, in which the residue

resulting from the same is dissolved, and used for bath. The copper produced by the process

is said to be worth 100 francs per ton more than the ordinary,
G. W. B.
DISCOVERY OF PHOSPHATES AT BEAUVAL (SOMME).
Les Phosphates de la Somme. By M. Breton. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de VIndustrie

Minerale, 1887, pp. 14, 15.
A sand containing 74 to 80 per cent, of phosphates discovered by M. Merle. It fills in

cavities in the Upper Chalk, and is covered by Eocene clay.
G. W. B.
NEW SAFETY-CAGE.
Parachute Achard. By M. Ac HARD. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de I' Industrie
Minerale, 1887, p. 37.
Devised to obviate danger in case of the breaking of the chain. When such breakage happens

the cage stops. This is accomplished as follows :—
In the pai-achute is a strong spring compressed by the tension of the chain. When the

latter breaks the spring forcibly pushes out, catches on each side which press against the

cables passed through metal guides fixed on each side of the parachute.
G. W. B.
NEW COAL-WASHER.
Lavoirs a valves de fond, a eliminations successives a travers la table (systhme LemiereJ.

By M. Lemieke. Comptes-Redus de la Societe de IIndustrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 57-59.
The chief point in the arrangement is a series of valves in the washing table, which are

opened and shut by the action of a piston. As the raw material passes along in the current

of water the heavier materials—sandstone, pyrites, etc.—sink first, and pass downwards

through the first valves. Through the successive valves beyond, the coal falls according to

specific gravity and state of division. By these means the coal is assorted according to

the quantity of ash it contains.
The arrangement is applicable to washing apparatus worked by piston or current of water.
In passing coal of different states of division the rate of piston and height of the

auterior rims of the valves are altered.

G, W. B.
71
AUTOMATIC STOPS FOR WAGONS ON INCLINES.
Barriere aulomatique installee a la tete d'un plan incline, aux mines de Lens. By M.

DinoirE. Cotnptes-Rendus de la Societe de I'Industrie Minerale, 1887,7?. 81.
In the ordinary systems the barrier is let fall, or the chain hooked up by hand; in the

three systems described the arrest does not depend on the vigilance of the workman, but is

brought into action by the descending wagon.
Consists of an iron tube, connected by cross bars to an axis, on which it turns. On this

tube two catches are placed. When the wagon approaches the tube swings round on the axis

and stops it. For the passage of the full wagon it is raised, and hooked up by hand. It

has been used for a time with satisfactory results.
G. W. B.
THE WALLING OF SHAFTS.
(1) Muraillenient des puits. Emploi d'un cintre mobile et d'un beton de ciment.
By M. Buisson. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de I'Industrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 94-97.
(2) Muraillement des puits en dailies et beton de ciment. By M. Maitssuer. Same
publication, p. 129.
A method of working with the aid of a circle of iron, by which much time is saved.
The height of this circle is from 25 to 39 inches.
In building, the bricks or stones are placed round, and in contact with it. When a circular

tier of the wall is thus completed the iron is raised and another tier of masonry placed in

position. In this way the time usually spent in measuring the diameter and ascertaining the

verticality of the masonry is saved.
When the space between the masonry and the walls of the shaft is to be filled in M'ith

rubble and cement the larger size of iron circle is used, so that more of its height may be

left below as a support until the cement sets.
The method is applicable to the large shafts of pits as well as the smaller ones of wells.

G. W. B.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF PYRITES.
Combustion spontanee des Pyrites. By M. De Catelin. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de

I'Industrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 153-154.
The following conclusions are established:—
1.—That oxidation of pyrites is of itself sufficient to induce combustion. 2.—That the

degree of oxidation or inflammation depends on the physical state and dissemination of the

pyrites. Conclusions arrived at from observations on pyrites of following composition:—
Per Cent. Sulphur ... ... ... ... ... ...

14'56
Iron .................. 9-03
Alumina ... ... .. ... ... ... 21*75
Silica .................. 44-00
Water .................. 7*33
Chalk .................. 2-33
Copper .................. 1-00
100-00
G. W. 15.
72
FIRING IN MINES CONTAINING EIRE-DAM P.
(1) Mhche pour coups de Mine, ne donnant niflammex, ni etencelles (systeme Lamargere).

By M. Peeein. Same publication, pp. 118-120.
In the system of M. Lamagere a new gun-cotton (poudre fulmi-coton), invented by him, is

used. It is enclosed in a tube of zinc and allowed to protrude at both ends. May be fired

in ordinary way by an incandescent body such as tinder. M. Lamagere uses a bichromate

battery, which raises to a red heat a wire communicating with the explosive.
(2) Allumage des coups de mines (systeme Lamargere). By M. PebriN. Same
publication, %>¦ 1 58. Some modifications of the system described.

G. W. B.
SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OE EIRE-DAMP AND CARBONIC ACID GAS.
(1) Degagements instantanes d'acide carbonique el degrisou a la Mine de la Combelle,
division des Mines de Brassac. By M. Beesson. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de

VIndustrie Minerale, 1887, pp. 243-250.
Points out coincidences between the escape of gas and barometric depression.
(2) Observations sur la note presentee par M. Bresson, sur les degagements instantanes
de grisou et d'acide carbonique aux mines de la Combelle. By M. Cleemont. Same

publication, pp. 264-268.
Reply to former. Points out that barometric depression will not influence gas in reservoirs

shut off from atmospheric influence. Gas pent up in front of workmen will be let out in any

case when its wall is ruptured. The only result of low pressure is to make the escape

quicker.

G. W. B.
A METHOD OE OVERTURNING WAGONS.
Plaques en fontes ondees pour le versage des wagons de la mine de Franchepre (Lorraine).

By M. Seeviee. Comptes-Rendus de la Societe de VIndustrie Minerale, 1877, pp. 271-272.

The wagon overturns itself on reaching the required spot, by reason of a depression into

which its front wheel sinks.

G. W. B.
SHAW'S PATENT MINE SIGNALLING APPARATUS.
The Colliery Engineer (Penna.), 1888, Vol. VLIL, pp. 207-208.
The instrument consists of a plain brass tube, 12 inches long by 1J inches in diameter.

This is closed at one end, while the other end is provided with a loose piston valve, held

in a closed position by a bow spring in an elastic manner. This tube is tapped at one end

with a brass pipe, \ inch in diameter, for the entrance of the gas to be tested. An exit

nozzle is provided in the centre of the tube for the free escape of the explosive gas. At

this point there is an igniter, an ordinary gas or lamp flame serving for the purpose. This

is all supported on a small brass pillar secured to the top of the table. In close

proximity to the piston valve there is a brass gong. The erases being tested are drawn by

an air-pump from the workings and delivered into the
73
brass tube, and, whenever they are in the least explosive, they ignite in contact with the

flame, and the resulting explosion within the tube propels the piston valve against the

gong, which in turn gives an alarm that can be heard at a great distance.
The apparatus is connected with the various portions of the mine by a number of \ inch iron

tubes, a separate one for each place. One end of each tube is at the testing apparatus, and

the other, to which is attached a rubber tube and metallic whistle, is placed in the

highest part of the mine chamber. The apparatus is kept constantly in motion, and whenever

gas is drawn through any tube it is immediately announced by its ignition in the brass tube

and the ringing of the gong. An indicator shows which tube delivered the gas, and the

operator then knows from which particular part of the mine it was drawn. He then moves a

small lever, which reverses the current of air in that tube and blows a shrill whistle at

the inside end of it. The miner can only stop this ear-splitting noise by pinching the tube

shut for four seconds, and this action notifies the operator of the apparatus by another

whistle that the miner has been warned.

M. W. B.
INCANDESCENT LAMPS IN EXPLOSIVE GASES. By H. Hutchins. The Colliery Engineer (Penna.),

1888, Vol. VI1L, p. 197.
Expeeiments.
I.—By means of a station battery and a water volta-meter, a sufficient quantity of hydrogen

and oxygen was collected to about fill a small tin case. The fittings to this case were: an

entrance at the side to admit a rod for piercing the bulb of the incandescent lamp; a

window to ascertain whether or not the lamp was burning; and a wooden frame to hold the

lamp. The lower end of the case was open and placed under water. A Swan lamp of 16

candle-power was used, and the carbon filament was raised to a white incandescence by the

dynamo. The bulb was pierced and the gas immediately exploded with considerable noise.

The carbon filament remained intact.
II.—Marsh gas and air were mixed in the proportions of 1 to 7£ volumes, and collected in a

case, similar to that used in the first experiment. The same kind of lamp was used, and the

experiment conducted in the same manner. The gas did not explode. and the filament was

found to be broken, due, of course, to the flying pieces of glass.
III.—Coal gas was used alone in this experiment, which was conducted in a manner similar to

the preceding ones, except that a Maxim lamp was used. The result on piercing the bulb was

that the filament continued to burn.
IV.—In this experiment coal gas was used, mixed with air, in the proportion of 1 to 6

volumes. A Maxim lamp was used, and the experiment conducted similar to the preceding ones,

except that a pressure gauge was used to make certain whether the gas exploded or not. On

piercing the bulb, the filament was not broken, and in a few seconds the gas exploded with

some noise. The tin case was thrown 5 or 6 feet into the air, and the filament was broken.
No further experiments were made with marsh gas, as it is more explosive than coal gas.
Conclusions.
It appears therefore that the inrush of gases does not break the filament of a Swan or

Maxim lamp, before the gas can become ignited, and that the breaking of such lamps is

dangerous, because the incandescent filament coming in contact with gases and air in

explosive proportions will explode them. Every precaution was taken in connecting the lamp

leads, so as to prevent by any possibility an arc or spark being formed at the spring in

the base of the lamp sockets, which might explode the gas.
M. W. B.
74
IRON ORES OF MICHIGAN.
Mode of Deposition of the Iron Ores of the Menominee Range, Michigan. By J OHN Fulton.

Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers (Advance Sheets) 12 pp., with

nine Figures in text. Read July. 1887.
The Menominee Range is an east arid west ridge running along the north side of the

Menominee River where it Hows between Michigan and Wisconsin. It is about 27 miles long and

from 200 feet to 300 feet above the level of the low swamps from which it rises. The rocks

of which it is composed belong to three divisions of the great Huronian series. Of these

the first is the " Norway Limestone Belt," a group of crystalline and siliceous

light-coloured limestones, at least 1,200 feet thick. The next group is the " Quinnesec

Ore-Formation," consisting of 1,000 feet of siliceous or jasper slates impregnated with

iron oxide, capped by argillaceous hydro-mica black and flesh-coloured slates. The third

division, the " Hanbury Slate Group," 2,000 feet thick, is composed of dark grey slaty or

schistose beds with occasional quartz bands. These divisions are conformable to one another

and dip at high angles south to the east of Quinnesec and north to the westward. Whether

the first or the third be the lowermost set of deposits is not yet known. Several outliers

of Potsdam sandstone (Cambrian) lie horizontally on the crest of the ridge.
The ore occurs mainly in the Middle Division as lenticular masses—approximately contact

deposits—having irregularly elliptical outlines and interbedded in the jasper and clay

slates. It is a peculiarity of these masses of iron ore that they '; pitch " westward.
The most probable theory of the origin of these ore-deposits is said to be that which

regards them as thinly bedded ferriferous carbonates somewhat mixed with dusty magnetite

and wholly altered to hematite by heat and chemical agencies. The composition of the ores

is given as follows :—
Mines. Met. Iron. Insoluble Matter.

Phosphorus.
Vulcans ...... 5875 ... 900 ... -045
Cyclops ...... 61-37 ... 733 ... -015
Norway ...... 53-27 ... 13-02 ... -036
Quinnesec ...... 6456 ... 7"69 ... -037
This mining field was opened in 1877, and from that date to the end of 1887 7,500,000 tons

of ore have been shipped. G. A. L.
PYRITE IN COAL.
Modes of occurrence of Pyrite in Bituminous Coal. By Amos P. Brown. Transactions of the

American Institute of Mining Engineers (Advance Sheets), 8 pp. Read February, 1888.
The observations detailed in this paper are confined to the bituminous and semi-bituminous

coals of Pennsylvania, but the author states that certain generalisations which he makes

will be found universally applicable.
Pyrite occurs in coal (1) as nodules or lenticular masses; (2) in defined and persistent

bands; (3) in thin flakes parallel to the bedding; (4) as incrustations in joints and

cavities; and (5) in fine rounded particles disseminated throughout the coal. The compact

variety (the " hard sulphur " of the miners) is commoner in the lower coal-seams; the

friable ("soft" or "black sulphur") in the upper. The nodules, commonest in the lower seams

of Mercer, Brookville, and Clarion are often formed round a nucleus of fish-remains.
75
The stratified form is generally friable, impure, and associated with the mineral charcoal.

A very marked pyrite layer is characteristic of the Lower Kittanning Seam in Clearfield and

Centre Counties and in part of Cambria County, disappearing gradually in the latter.
As thin flakes pyrite is local and usually occurs in the upper portion of the seam. It is

both hard and soft in places, cannot be separated from the coal by hand-picking, and on

weathering gives rise to white efflorescence of sulphate.
The incrusting pyrite is always crystalline and evidently an after-product derived from the

surrounding rocks. It is very local, and seldom exceeds one millimetre in thickness. The

disseminated form is regarded as similar to the nodular variety on a microscopic scale. It

is found in many of the Pittsburg gas coals, but seldom in injurious quantities.
The iron of the pyrite came primarily from the old Carboniferous soil, but, directly,

probably from the coal-forming plants themselves, since the ashes of plants contain a

notable quantity of iron. The sulphur is referred either to gypsum or other sulphate, or to

hydrogen sulphide. " In the former case it would be required that the gypsum be decomposed

in presence of the iron salts with formation of ferrous sulphate, which latter was

afterwards reduced to sulphide by the decomposing organic matter; while, on the other hand,

if the reducing agent were hydrogen sulphide, the pyrite would probably be formed

directly." The iridescent scum on the surface of stagnant pools is often pyritous.
That in the case of the nodular pyrite the necessary organic matter was of animal origin is

likely from the fish remains which are associated with it. G. A. L.
CHEAP MINING AND MILLING.
By V. W. Bradley. Engineering and Mining Journal [New York"], 1888, Vol, XL V., p.

324.
The Spanish Mine (Nevada Co., California) is mining a large deposit of soft slate that

crops out from 30 to 100 feet in width on the face of a steep mountain. The slate is seamed

in all directions with small strings of quartz; there is a little gold in the slate, some

in the quartz, and a considerable amount in a loose free state in the clay parting between

the quartz and the slate. The formation has a dip of about 80 degrees from the horizontal.
The mining is done in open cuts on the croppings over the main tunnel, which starts from

the surface immediately at the top of the mill building, and follows the course of the

deposit into the mountain. During stormy weather ore is obtained from accumulated supplies

and by stoping the best portions of the deposit over the tunnel and replacing the same by

square sets of timber in such a manner as to form ore-bins for storing and loading into the

tunnel-cars ore broken in the cuts. In the cuts the softest streaks near the foot wall are

stoped by Chinese miners. Ore left on the foot wall soon slacks off, and ore on the hanging

wall and also portions of the hanging wall cave in. All waste is separated as much as

possible from the ore and left in the worked out cuts, a strong pillar being left at the

end of each cut.
The tunnel has a grade of 2^ per cent. A brake on the last car controls a train of ten

loaded cars coming out, and a mule easily hauls back the empty cars.
76
The milling plant cost:—
£ s. d.
Four Huntington mills and self feeds ... ... 1,269 4 10
Labour, erection, etc. ... ... ... ... 460 19 4
Silver-plated amalgamating plates ... ... ... 397 1 6
Water pipe and wheel, shafting and pulleys ... 244 3 0
Lumber, building, and V-Hume ......... 238 18 0
Hardware .................. 205 4 4
Blake crusher.................. 123 13 10
Cost of milling plant under cover and running: — \
Freight, £4 16s. per ton from San Francisco; > £2,939 4 10 and lumber, £4 10s. per

1,000 feet. ) ~ —
The mills have been in operation about 21 months. For the first ten months, one 5-foot mill

and one 4-foot mill crushed 17,200 tons of ore; four months later, two 5-foot mills were

added to the plant, and the four mills in five months have crushed 19,402 tons. The ore (of

which 27 cubic feet is a ton) consists of about one-third hard quartz, one-third tough

slate, and one-third decomposed quartz and slate. The four mills, requiring 22 horse-power,

are running at 60 revolutions per minute, and are discharging through a No. 5 slot screen.
The mills crush from 120 to 140 tons per day, depending upon the proportion of quartz in

the ore. They amalgamate inside the mills, obtaining 45 per cent, of the gold saved around

and inside the mills, and 55 per cent, on the plates. The tailings are untouched after

leaving the plates. About one ounce of mercury is lost per 16 to 31 tons of ore crushed,

depending upon its value.
The costs per ton for a few recent months are as follow:—
1887-8. Sept. Oct. Nov.

Dec. Jan. and Feb.
Mine—
Worked days...... 22 28 30 25

36
Tons of ore ...... 2,796 3,443 4,047 2,972

4,256
s. d. s. (1. s. d. s. d. s. d.
Mining......... 0 9*84 0 11-42 0 10-42 0 8*64 0 5"81
Dead work ...... 0 4-80 0 1-63 0 184 0 4-03 0

5-42
Delivering ore to mill... 0 240 0 2-40 0 245 0 344

0 2-93
General expenses .. 0 0-96 0 '1*16 0 086 0 1-20

0 144
1 6-00 1 4-61 1 3-07 1 5-28 1 jWJO Mill-

=-------
Worked days...... 20 244 29 23

32
s. d. s. d. r. d. s. d. s. d.
Mill expenses...... 0 5-28 0 5-86 0 461 0 5-42 0

5'42
Water for power ... 0 2'64 . 0 2"26 0 240 0 230

0 2-30
Handling ore...... 0 2-16 0 2'20 0 241 0 2-50 0

2'30
General expenses ... 0 0"96 0 145 0 0*86 0 1-20

0 144
0 11-04 0 1147 0 9-98 0 11-42 0 11-46
Bullion produced ... 4 7'68 3 7"68 2 7-20 2

7'49 2 7"39 Total expenses ...... 2 5-04 2 4-08 2

1-05 2 470 2 3"06
Profit ...... ... 2 2 64 1 3'60 0 615 0

2"79 0 4"33
M. W. B,
77
ON THE VARIATIONS OF THE VOLUME OF FIRE-DAMP GIVEN OFF BY A WORKING DISTRICT.
Versuche ilber die allmalige Engasung einer Sau-abtheilung des SchacJites Kaister-
stuhl der Steinkohlenzeche Ver, West/alia bei Dortmund. Anlagen zum
Haupt-bericMe derPreusslschen Schlagwetter-Commission,Vol.lV..pp. 113-124,
and Plate.
The experiments were made in the No. 2 East District of the Sonnenschein Seam,
of the following section:—
Ft. In.
Coal.................. 4 7i
Stone ............... 0 llf
Coal.................. 0 11|
6 6|
The roof consisted of about 1 foot 8 inches of shale, covered by about 60 feet of coarse

ferruginous sandstone. The thill consists of shale for a depth of about 30 feet.
The district covered an area of about 500 feet on the level, and about 250 feet to the rise

of the seam at an angle of about 60°, and comprised about 20,000 tons of coal.
The district was worked in the whole by means of levels, about 33 feet apart, and holings

at intervals of about 100 feet. The air entered at the lowest level, and passed upwards to

the return air-way where the observations were made in a length of 33 feet, which was

carefully lined with timber. The observations were made daily of the volume of air, and

samples were taken for analysis.
Volume of Fire- Surface of Coal -u„i„„,Q «c <-<„,.
damp. Exposed. Volume of Gas.
Coal 5 o %! fc °5
Month, worked -g^ | O^

u<«ri H*g Remarks.
1884-85. Per per per || » "S»

§£ 8 gWg
Day. Month. Month. %% j g-g £-| *§*
fi pu fM o
Cub. ft. Cub. ft. Tons. Sq. ft. Sq. ft. Cub. ft. Cub. ft. Cub. ft.
December. 21,442 664,700 1.012 13,640 6,300 656 487 105 \
January... 21,416 663.900 755 19,630 5,990 878 337 110 I

Fi.rst
February.. 21,857 612,000 734 25,190 5,560 833 243 110 j

^whoif °r
March ... 25,113 778,500 890 32,290 7,100 874 211 109 J
April ... 22,180 665,400 571 36,650 4,360 1,165 181 152 l

Wholeand
May ... 18.384 569.900 446 38.390 1,740 1,277 148 ...

f broken.
June ... 21,380 641,400 855 ...... 750 ...... ^

Removal of
July ... 19,196 595,100 1,287 ... ... 462 ......

I pillars
August... 19,316 598,800 1,368 ... ... 437 ...... J

or broken.
The Commission are of opinion that:—
1.—The volume of gas produced in a district does not increase as the workings become more

extensive, because it chiefly depends upon the quantity of coal worked, and the area of

freshly exposed coal surface.
2.—In the second or broken working, the volume of gas produced is less than during the

first working, because, at the end of a short time, the coal loses a great portion of its

contained gas.
They agree that:—
1.—The ventilation should be more active during the first working than during the removal

of pillars.
2.—The volume of air to be circulated through the workings must not depend upon the number

of workmen and animals, but should be proportionate to the output of coal.
M. W. B. k
78
COAL-FIELDS AND COAL PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.
TJeber die SteinJcohlen-Yorkommnisse und Production auf der JSrde. Ccwbad Blomeke. Berg-

und Huetlenmaennische Zeitung, Vol. XLYI1., Nos. 12 and U,pp. 105-107 and 124-126.
Reviewing the coal-fields of the world, the author finds that Great Britain possesses about

146,480 million tons of workable coal, and Germany about 400,000 million tons. Taking the

production of the year 1882 as a basis, Germany could supply her own wants for 6,000 years,

or those of all Europe for 1,500 years. The world's production for the year 1882 was as

follows :—
Pits. Workmen. Production Value. Per Man.
m Tons. £ Tons. £ s.
Germany ... 488 195,961 51,118,595 13,393,000 266

68 6
Great Britain...... 503,987 158,847,476 67,097,180 315 133 2
United States............ 31,859,996 14,111,220 ......
France ... ... 252 104,995 20,046,796 9,968,430 190

91 18
Belgium ............ 17,590,989 7,035,810 ......
Austria...... 157 39,644 7,194,096 2,287,590 181 57

14
Russia............... 3,773,665 ......
China ............... 2,965,000 ...... ......
India ............... 2,550,000 ...... ......
Australia ............ 2,219,000 991,280 ......
South America............ 2,000,000 ......
Canada............... 1,329,000 692,640 ......
Spain ...... 465 9,280 1,044,480 463,650 112

49 19
Japan ............... 931,780 ...... ......
Hungary ............ 900,000 ...... ......
Tasmania ............ 428,000 319,100
Sweden............... 249,000 ......
Africa............... 200,000 ...... ......
Turkey............... 100,000 ...... ......
Portugal ............ 12,963 10,310 ......
Total production in round numbers 306,000,000 tons.
The production of brown coal in
1882 was about ...... 86,000,000 tons.
The production per year from 1862 to 1882 increased about threefold, the work per man

employed about twofold, both increases materially lowering the value of the material.

A. R. L.
GEOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ROUMANIA.
Geologische und bergbauliche SJcizzen atis Rournaenien. C. Alberts. Berg- und

Huettenmaennische Zeitung, Vol. XLVII., .No. 15,pp. 131 and 132.
Roumania is separated from Transylvania by the Southern Carpathians, stretching from west

to east and ending at a small affluent of the Sereth called the Buzen, and by the

Carpathians proper which start from the opposite bank of the same stream and trend towards

the north. This latter range forms a boundary between extensive chalk formations on its

western slope, and the earlier Tertiary formation, the Eocene, to the eastward, which is

overlaid with diluvial and other deposits. The Roumanian petroleum borings are in the

Tertiary formation, and all the so-called "oil lines" in which petroleum and naphtha occur

run from west to east. It follows from this that the
79
clefts from which the petroleum ascends from below must run in the same direction. These

again must have had their origin in a volcanic upheaval in which the southern part of the

northern range was pressed against the eastern end of the Southern Carpathians, and as the

clefts go through the Tertiary formations the upheaval must have succeeded them in point of

time. It would appear that the petroleum and naphtha now worked in this district are drawn

from minor reservoirs of sandstone, etc., near the surface, which again are gradually

filled through the before-mentioned clefts from larger reservoirs far below. This also

explains the fact that the bore-holes are productive for short periods only, and it may be

expected that the upper reservoirs will in time be filled afresh from below and again

become workable.
In working, the best results have been obtained from shafts sunk to various depths down to

100 fathoms, and about 4 feet square. They can be used to advantage only in districts where

not much water is met with; but there are many of these, and difficulties are much reduced

by the remarkable aptitude, and fitness for the work shown by the native sinkers.
A bore-hole in Draganesci, which for a long time gave a daily supply of 1,000 barrels,

forms a proof that there must be enormous reservoirs of petroleum at some lower depth.
A neglected Roumanian industry, for which a great future is in store, is the winning of the

brown coal which exists there in several districts in very large quantity and of very good

quality. The available wood supplies being almost exhausted, some other fuel must soon be

provided; but as the Roumanians themselves seem blind to the opportunity and will not lay

out money in such undertakings, the new enterprise will probably have to be conducted by

foreign capital. A. It. L.
COxVL-DUST EXPLOSION AT KREUZGRABEN COLLIERY.
Die Kohlenstaub-Explosion zu G-rube Kreuzgraben bei SaarbrilcTcen. J. Sprengee. Berg-

und Suettemnaennische Zeitung, Vol. XLVII., No. 15, pp. 132-136.
On February 15th of the present year an explosion took place at the Kreuzgraben Colliery.

The men at bank heard several short detonations following each other in quick succession

and saw clouds of black dust come up the shaft. The cause of the accident remains a

mystery; but what apparently took place was first an explosion of gas, raising a cloud of

coal-dust, which in its turn also exploded. This raised another cloud, so that a succession

of explosions followed.
The shaft is about 250 fathoms deep, and as yet only one seam is worked. The workings are

divided into three flats, called the Eastern, Western, and Middle Fields respectively. The

Western Flat is worked out, the other two being still in operation. The Middle Flat where

the explosion took place is extremely dry and warm, and the coal-dust collects in every

crevice. Inflammable gas is present in small quantities only, and not likely to be in

itself dangerous. The dampness of the East Flat will probably account for the explosion not

being communicated to it.
The usual rules as regards safety-lamps, the firing of shots, etc., are very strictly

enforced in the pit, and no theory seems to explain the accident except that of some breach

of the regulations. The cages stood at meetings, and this is said to account for their not

being wrecked; but the damage in the pit was very great. Loaded tubs of 15 or 16 cwt. were

thrown for 40 or 50 feet and upset one over the other, timbering was thrown down and

broken, and other considerable damage done, and this more especially near the shaft.

Forty-six men were in the flat at the time, of whom 41 were killed, while some 30 men in

the Eastern Flat remained uninjured.
The Kreuzgriiben Colliery is bounded on its western side by the Camphausen Colliery, where

the great explosion took place in March, 1885. A. R. L.
Bo
AN INCLINE WORKED BY ELECTRIC MACHINERY.
Flectrischer Gopel zur Forderung auf einfallender StrecJce im SalzioerJce Neu-Stassfurt.

Messes. Siemens & Halske. Berg- und Huettenmaennische Zeitung, Vol. XLVIL, No. 17, pp.

154-157. Illustrated in the text.
The Hainmacher shaft of the Neu-Stassfurt salt mine has a depth of 335 fathoms. About three

years since its owners, working to the dip of the seam, had occasion to make an incline at

an angle of less than 40 degs., and decided to work it by the electric machinery of Messrs.

Siemens & Halske, who had already carried out similar installations in the mine.
The conditions were as follows:—From an existing steam engine, which was to work a primary

dynamo machine 170 yards from the pit-head, down the shaft to the incline, a distance of

600 yards, required a double circuit for the electric stream. This was effected by a bare

copper wire above ground, and a cable well covered and protected by wooden casing for the

rest of the distance. The problem was to transport, in a shift of 8 hours, 100 full tubs of

23£ cwts. and 100 empties of nearly 8| cwts. respectively, up and down an incline measuring

170 yards in length and 110 yards in height. Allowing about one minute for onsetting, this

came to about a pair of tubs (one full and one empty) every three minutes, with a speed of

2-84 feet per second. Taking for friction 1^ per cent, of the total load multiplied by

2-84, the speed per second, and for the lift the weight of the material, 15 cwts.,

multiplied by the height in feet and divided by the number of seconds (15 x f |g = 27-5),

the total work to be done on the incline came to 137 + 27"5 = 28'87 foot-cwts. = 3,233 foot

pounds per second. Allowing for loss of power in the intermediate machinery, this must be

multiplied by 2J, giving an effective of 15 I.H.P. to be supplied by the steam engine at

bank.
The useful work done by the electric machinery proper is about 53 per cent., while the loss

in the machinery of the incline is about 25 per cent. The winding drum, with a diameter of

4 feet 1 inch, makes 13*3 turns per minute, and it is driven with a strap and wheel gearing

from an electro-motor making 1,000 revolutions per minute. The strap, about whose

efficiency there had previously been some doubt, was found to answer excellently and to

conduce greatly to smoothness in working. The primary dynamo is of Messrs. Siemens &

Halske's much-used D0 type, and with a tension of 370 volts sends 22 amperes of current to

the electro-motor, from 5 to 6 per cent, being lost in transmission.
The incline did satisfactory work for about seventeen months, and, its purpose being

fulfilled, it was then abandoned.
The makers are now in a position to supply improved machinery which gives a much higher

percentage of useful work than in the installation described.
A. R. L.
THE EXPERIMENTS OE THE PRUSSIAN EIRE-DAMP COMMISSION ON EXPLOSIONS OE COAL-DUST

AND GAS.
Schluss-bericht ilber die in der Versuchsslrec/ce auf der Fishalischen Steinkohlengrube

Konig bei Neunlcirchen (SaarbrucTcen) bezuglich der Zundung von Kohlenstaub und Grubengas

angestelllen Versuche. Anlagen zum Haupt-berichle der Freussischen Schlagwetter-Commission,

Vol. IV., pp. 1-88, and Plate.
The experiments were made at the Konig Colliery under the direction of Herr C. Hilt, and a

copy of his preliminary report, containing a description of the apparatus
81
and a summary of the experiments made up to the end of 1884, was translated by Mr. Theo.

Wood Bunning, and appears in Vol. XXXIV. of the Transactions, pp. 199-245. The experiments

were resumed in 1885, and the official report contains the results of all the experiments

at the Konig Colliery. The following account will be confined to these later

experiments.
I.__Experiments upon the Denote of Flame of Blown-out Shots, in the
ABSENCE OP COAL-DUST AND GAS, CHARGED WITH 8'1 OZS. OP POWDER.
Register . volatile

Le»fth ^3$*°*
of Description of Stemming. lw-ittpr

ot l,W7 lbs.
Experiments. m<iraer.

Flame. was moved.
1884 per 100.

Feet. Feet.
1-10 Potters'clay ......... — ... 9-8-13-1 ... Nil.
1885-

n k o -, XT'!
208,209 Powdered shale......... — ... 6'o-82 ... Nil.
217 Equal parts of powdered shale
and coal-dust from Pluto ... — ... 16-4 ... "3
67 Coal-dust from Louisenthal ... 33-4 ... 311 ... '6
57-59 ,. Kohlscheid ... 6"0 ... 81*1

... "8
61 „ Konigin Louise 32"0 ... 31T ...

l'O
1,2,3 „ Konig...... 30-0 ... 811 ...

'8-1 "1
58-60 „ Pluto ...... 22-0 ... 811 ...

1*8
II.—Experiments upon the Length op Flame op Blown-out Shots in the Presence op Coal-Dust

and Absence op Gas.
(a) Relative effects of the different shot-holes when 32-8 feet of the gallery was strewed

with fine coal-dust from Hansa:—
1.—Stemmed with Clay.
Register of No. of Weight of

Length of
Experiment. Shot-hole. Powder used.

Flame.
1884 Ozs.
19 ... 1 ... 81 ... 13-9
20 ... 2 ... „ ... 26-5
21 ... 3 ... „ ... 9-5
22 "... 4 ... „ ... 13-9
23 ... 5 ... „ ... 9'5
24 ... 6 ... „ ... 62-0
25 ... 7 ... „ ... 57-4
26 ... 4 ... 17-6 ... 70-8
2.—Stemmed with Coal-dust.
. .. . . Register of No. of

Weight of Length of
CoaJ-uust trom. Experiments. Shot-hole. Powder

used. Flame.
1885. Ozs. Feet.
/ 28 ... 1 ... 81 ... 70-7
SaarbrucTc. \ 30 3

7"-0
Gerhard Colliery, Beust Seam— J „, .

,_^.()
Very fine dust, containing^ „„ "' _

„' _
33 4 per cent, of volatile ] „„ " £

oc.q
matter- / 34 '.'.'. 7 '.'.'.

" '.'•'. 79-0
\ 34a ... 4 ... 17-6 ... 61*9
Westphalia. Hansa Colliery—
Fine dust ......... 27 ... 6 ... 81 ...

662
Finer dust ......... 345 ... 4 ... 17'6 ...

707
iv.—compaeison of the mechanical effects of gas and coal-dust
Explosions.
Tub weighing „ ...
Description of Length of 1,627 lbs.

Pressure m Atmosphere.
Experiments. Flame. was moved.

Gauge Gauge Gauge
Feet. Feet. I. II. III.
. Coal-dust alone ......187 0 ... 8*3 ... 2 2

1^
Gas alone ...... 1607 ... 26'2 ... If 2

H
f}n<s nrul rlnsf /144'3 in main drift \ /p\

o 03 93
was ana aust ......\ 426in Bide drift J W ... » ^4 &%
In the first experiment 1322 lbs. of Pluto dust were strewed over a length of 131-2 feet

without gas; in the second 70G cubic feet of 7 per cent, of gas; and in the third a similar

mixture was employed, together with a dust strewing of 65'6 feet. The Schiifa and Budenberg

gauges were placed at 3*3, 55'7, and 78'7 feet from the end of the gallery.
v.—expebiments as to the ignition of dttst and coal-gas by open
Lights.
(a) Gas without coal-dust.
4 per cent, of gas was ignited by an open light and the flame propagated with a velocity of

about 1 foot per second; with 5 per cent, the propagation of flame was more rapid; and with

6 per cent, the velocity was about 7 feet per cent, and slight explosion.
(b) Gas with coal-dust.
The presence of coal-dust did not cause explosion with 3 or 4 per cent, of gas; it was

slightly explosive with 5 per cent.; and explosions were always produced with 6 per cent.

M. W. B.
8G
A NEW FOSSIL FISH IN THE COAL-MEASURES OF COMMENTRY.
Sur un nouveau Foisson fossile du terrain houiller de Commentry (Allier). By M. Chabies

Beongniaet. Comptes Rendus de VAcademic des Sciences, pp. 1240-1242, Tome CVL, No. 17.
Found in the carboniferous shales of Commentry. The writer finds that the fish presents

peculiarities not found in any other living or fossil, and at the same time possesses

characters belonging to widely different species. He proposes for it the name of

Pleuracanthus Gaudryi.

G. W. B.
GEOLOGY
Note sur le senonien et le danien du sud-est de VEspagne. By M. Re>~e Nickles. Comples

Rendus de V Academie des Sciences. Tome CVL., No. 6 (G Fecrier, 1888), pp. 431-433.
A description of the beds of the Upper Cretaceous {Senonien and Danien—the stage of the

Faxoe limestone and beds immediately below it) of the south-east of Spain.
The interest of the paper arises from the fact that these formations are said to contain

beds of combustible.

G. W. B.
THOMPSON'S CALORIMETER.
Experiences sur Vemploi du calorimetre Thompson pour la determination du pouvoir

calorifique pratique de la houille. By M. Scheueee-Kestnek. Comples Rendus de VAcademie des

Sciences, pp. 941-944, Tome CVL., No. 13 {March 26th, 1888).
A comparison of the heating powers of different coals as determined by Thompson's

calorimeter, with the results obtained with the apparatus of Favre and Silbermann. The

greatest discrepancy found is not more than 4 per cent.
For Thompson's apparatus M. Scheurer-Kestner uses a larger quantity of chlorate and nitrate

of potash than indicated by English experimenters : eight or ten times the ¦weight of the

coal is the proportion used by the latter; the former thinks ten and a half to eleven is

requisite for good results.
M. Scheurer-Kestner also finds the 10 per cent, added in England to the results as
the coefficient of the apparatus absolutely insufficient. By an experiment on wood
charcoal—of which the total number of heat units is known—15 per cent, is found to
be the necessary addition for Thompson's calorimeter. After correcting the results
obtained from it by this figure, they agree with those from Favre and Silbermann's
apparatus to within 1^ per cent.
Here are the exact figures :—
Calorimeters.
Thompson's, Favre and
corrected la per cent. Silbermann's.
Ronchamp coal ............ 9,179 ... 9,130
Do. ............ 9,237 ... 9,163
Blanzycoal ............ 9,011 ... 9,111
Creusot co'il ............. 9,521 ... 9,622
Saarbriick coal ............ 8,554 ... 8,457
Bo. ............ 8.433 ... 8,462
Ruhr ............... 9,128 ... 9,111
87
The following table exhibits the results obtained by burning 20 different kinds of coal in

Thompson's calorimeter, and adding 15 per cent., alongside of those afterwards obtained

from the same coals in Favre and Silbermann's :—
Calorimeters. Thompson's. Favre and Silbermanu's. Difference per

cent.
1 ...... 8,972 ...... 8,858 ...... 1*8
2 ...... 8:559 ...... 8,853 ...... 3'2
3 ...... 8,956 ...... 8,771 ...... 21
4 ...... 8,882 ...... 8,756 ...... 15
5 ...... 8,384 ...... 8,545 ...... 1'8
6 ....... 8,401 ...... 8,638 ...... 2'7
7 ...... 8,865 ...... 8,727 ...... re
8 ...... 8,408 ...... 8,714 ...... 3-5
9 ...... 8,688 ...... 8,660 ...... 0-3
10 ...... 8,586 ...... 8,880 ...... 3'2
11....... 8,810 ..... 8,656 ...... 1'8
12 ...... 8,585 ...... 8,685 ...... 12
13 ... . ... 9,232 ...... 8,943...... 32
14 ...... 9,021 ...... 8,893 ...... 1'4
15 ...... 8,996 ...... 8,801 ...... 21
16 ...... 8,627 ...... 8,933 ...... 33
17 ...... 8,964 ...... 8,700 ...... 31
18 ...... 8,750 ...... 8,909 ...... 1'5
19 ...... 9,186 ...... 9,030 ...... 1*6
20 ...... 8,811 ...... 8,864 ...... 0'6
The final conclusion is that Thompson's calorimeter only deserves limited confidence. The

calorimetric bomb of M. Berthelot is considered to combine the advantages of both

instruments in question without any of their disadvantages. G. W. B.
HEATING POWER OF FRENCH COALS.
Chaleur de combustion de la houille du Nord de la France. By M. Scheiteeb-
Kestneb.
(1) Departement du Nord, Oomptes llendus de V Academie des Sciences, pp. 1092-1094,
Tome CVL, No. 15. .
(2) Bassin de Charleroi, Ditto, pp. 1160-1161, Tome CVL. No. 16.
(3) Bassin du Pas-de-Calais, Ditto, pp. 1230-1231, Tome CVL, No. 17. Various samples of

coal from the above-mentioned basins have been tested in Favre
and Silbermann's calorimeter. The coal, in small fragments, has been burnt in a current of

pure oxygen.
The results, along with analysis of different samples, are given in the following tables:—
1,—Basin of the Noeth.
Samples.
1. Anzin coking coal.—Lebret Pit. 3. Anzin non-coking coal.—Saint-Louis
2. Anzin non-coking coal.—Lambrecht Pit.
pit, 4. Aniche non-coking coal.
88 Analysis of Same.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Fixed carbon ......... 77"2 86"2 82-2 84-8
Volatile carbon......... 73 6'0 1'8 4"6
Hydrogen ......... 4"2 4-0 37 4"0
Oxygen ......... 113 2"9 11'6 60
Nitrogen ......... — 0-9 07 0'6
100-0 100-0 1000 100-0
Heat of combustion ......9,257 8,664 8.460 8,522
2.—Chableeoi Basin. Samples.
1. Bascoup non-coking coal. 4. Monceau-Fontaine-Martinez medium
2. Sart-les-Moulins non-coking coal. coal.—Monceau Pit.
3. Gilly-les-Charleroi and Vivurs un- 5. Bascoup non-coking coal (II.)
washed. fi. Sart-les-Moulins non-coking coal

(II.)
Analysis of Same.
l. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6.
Fixed carbon...... 84"42 84"13 8671 8271 82-79 8574
Volatile carbon ... 7"66 3-01 375 0'57 2-11

7'97
Hydrogen ...... 6-04 6*31 376 3-98 4"58

4-10
Oxygen ...... 1-04 571 513 11-85 9'83

T46
Nitrogen ...... 0"84 0-84 0-65 0-89 0-69

073
100-0 100-0 IOOjO 100-0 100-0 100-0 Heat of combustion ...

8,639 8,460 8,553 8.499 8,437 8,435
3.—Pas-de-Calais Basin. Samples.
1. Courrieres coking coal. 7. Dourges coking coal (III.)
2. Naend medium coal.—Pit No. 1. 8. Lens coking coal (fines).
3. Dourges coking coal (I.) 9- Meurchin coking coal.
4. Courcelles-lez-Lens coking coal. ^ 1Q< B6thxme coking coaL
5. Lens non-coking coal.— Douvrin Pit. „ ^. . ,. ,
° 11. Douvrin non-coking coal.
6. Dourges coking coal (II.)
Analysis of Same.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11.
Fixed carbon .. .. 7632 7975 78 60 7627 87 34 7829 75 74

72 25 86-63 69'39 8648
Volatile carbon .. 1457 321 1315 993 3"84 3'98

6'01 14-30 402 1556 107
Hydrogen .. .. 407 342 313 393 396 498 5

41 383 376 635 377
Oxygen ..... 410 1298 4'21 894 445 1186 1205

871 490 780 808
Nitrogen .. .. 0'94 064 091 0'93 041 0'89

079 091 0'69 0'90 060
1000 100-0 1000 100-0 1000 lOO'O 100-0 lOO'O 1000 100-0

100-0
Heat of combustion .. 8,814 8,790 8,726 8,647 8,642 8,634 8,562

8,446 8,438 8,360 8,340
These experimental results in nearly every case are found to differ rather widely from

those calculated according to the composition of the samples. In some cases thev exceed,

and in others fall below them. The writer can assign no reason for the differences. Nor do

the heating powers of the various samples depend altogether on their composition : their

different values cannot be traced to the percentage either of carbon, hydrogen, or oxygen.

G. W. B.
89
ON THE VEGETABLE ORIGIN OF COAL.
By Leo Lesqueeeux. Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania,
1885, pp. 95 to 124.
The assertion that coal is a compound of vegetable remains is contradicted by few, if any,

naturalists. But granting that the composition of coal is purely vegetable, the problem of

its formation is not fully solved.
How is it possible that plants, even woody plants or trees, could have been heaped by

natural agency in such a way that the original material could have produced, after

decomposition and compression, beds of coal from 4 to 25 feet, or even more, in thickness ?

If a forest were destroyed by some cataclysm,[and afterwards covered by the sea, and

gradually converted into coal, the forest, however dense, could not possibly produce a

layer of more than a few inches of coal.
Some suppose that the woody material of vegetation growing along the borders of great

rivers has been carried by water for long years, deposited near the mouth of the rivers,

heaped together there, then covered with mud and sand, and buried for future decomposition

and transformation into coal. In such an operation the vegetation would be mixed with

foreign elements, mud, sand, etc., and this mode of procedure is contradicted by the purity

of the matter composing coal. Beds of lignite have indeed been formed in the Red River and

in some of the affluents of the Mississippi near its mouth, but lignite of this kind is

always a fuel of little value, containing more than 50 per cent, of ash.
Bischoff supposed that the materials carried by currents into the sea were gradually

deposited according to their weight. But the stratification in horizontal layers is

perfectly distinct, and there is no succession of various kinds of deposits such as would

have taken place had the bed been produced by the translation of mixed materials from land

surface into the sea.
Grand 'Eury has lately proposed a new hypothesis. He supposes that there were in the

Carboniferous period shallow lakes or ponds surrounded by great forests of very luxurious

vegetation, and that the debris of these forests, small branches, leaves, and especially

the bark, already half decomposed or dried by atmospheric action, were swept by heavy rains

into these low grounds, where they contributed an amount of woody matter sufficient for

making a coal seam, and being covered by foreign deposits, were gradually transformed into

coal by the chemical process of slow combustion. This theory will not account for the

accumulation of vegetable matter with such a uniform thickness over such extensive areas as

those now occupied by some of the coal-beds of North America, which spread without

interruption through many thousands of square miles of country.
The Vail hypothesis imagines that coal is merely a local accumulation of bitumen derived

either from the earth by volcanic action or gradually condensed from a fancied bituminous

atmosphere, encircling our planet like the rings of Saturn. Bitumen has issued from the

earth and has been mined under the name "of albertite, etc., not in horizontal strata, but

in more or less irregular and more or less vertical veins, in no respect resembling beds of

coal, being pure bitumen and without a trace of vegetable fibre to be detected in it. The

absence of vegetable remains is quite enough to disprove any such theory, even if it were

possible to admit such a theory in the absence of all evidence.
Kuntze supposes that on the debris of very active floating marine vegetation, whose surface

had become gradually solid enough to support aerial plants, a different kind of vegetation

had been established. First, aquatic plants, then came large floating steins, the stigmaria

rendering the ground more solid. Then shrubs and ferns grew up, and
90
then trees of various kinds. These growths accumulated and formed a mass so heavy that it

gradually sank lower and lower into the sea, but so slowly that the vegetation still

continued at the surface of the water, supported on the dead material, until the whole

stratum sunk to the bottom of the sea, to be covered by aqueous sediments and transformed

into coal by slow combustion. This theory, however, fails to explain the formation of the

under-clays which generally serve as bottoms or supports to the coal-beds, does not account

for the origination of land plants on the surface of a marine vegetation floating in the

middle of an ocean, and does not explain the universal conformity of the coal-beds to the

intermediate strata, and is therefore nothing more than a fanciful hypothesis.
Everybody knows something about what is called the peat bog theory; but what is a peat bog

? The definition of a peat bog is the same as that of a bed of coal; it is an accumulation

of remains of plants grown in situ, whose remains, deposited each year or after the cycle

of their vegetation is completed, are superposed without interruption, one layer upon

another, until the accumulation becomes sometimes of great thickness and covers a wide

surface of land.
Two conditions are essential for the origin and growth of peat ,• water either in stagnant

basins, lakes, pools, etc., or water abundantly supplied by a boggy atmosphere, increased

by dense forest growth.
Pools of stagnant water, when not exposed to periodical drying up, are invaded by peculiar

vegetation, at first mostly conferva? of various colour and of prodigious activity of

growth, mixed with a mass of infusoria, animalcules, and microscopic plants, which partly

decomposed, partly containing the floating vegetation, soon fill the basins and cover the

bottom with a floating clay-like mould. So rapid is the work of these minute beings that in

some cases 6 to 10 inches of this mud is deposited per annum. When undisturbed, this mud

becomes gradually thick and solid, affording a kind of soil for the growth of marsh plants,

which root at the bottom of the basins or swamps and send up their stems to the surface of

the water or above it, where their substance, in the sunshine, becomes hard and woody. As

these plants periodically decay, their remains drop to the bottom of the water, and each

year the process is repeated, with a more or less marked variation in the species of the

plants; after a time the basins become filled by these successive accumulations of years

and centuries, and then the top surface of the decayed matter, being exposed to atmospheric

action, is transformed into humus, and is gradually covered by other kinds of plants,

making meadows and forests.
In other cases, when basins of water, not exposed to sweeping currents or great changes of

level, are too deep for the vegetation cf the aquatic plants, nature attains the same

result by the prolonged vegetation of certain kinds of floating mosses, more especially

sphagna. These floating masses grow with great speed, and, expanding their branches in

every direction over the surface of ponds and small lakes, soon cover it entirely. They

form a floating carpet which, as it increases in thickness, serves as a solid soil for a

vegetation of rushes, sedges, and some kinds of grasses, which grow abundantly mixed with

the mosses, and by their water-absorbing structure furnish a persistent humidity for the

preservation of their remains against aerial decay. The floating carpet becomes more solid,

and is then overspread by many species of larger swamp plants, especially those of the

heath family; and so, in the lapse of years by the continued vegetation of the mosses,

which is never interrupted, and by the yearly deposits of plant remains, the carpet at

length becomes strong enough to support trees, and is changed into a floating forest,

until, becoming too heavy, it either breaks and sinks suddenly to the bottom of the basin,

or is slowly and gradually lowered into it and covered with water.
91
The submergence is, nevertheless, not always final, for after the sinking of the first

floating carpet the vegetation of the mosses may again begin at the surface of the water,

and in the course of years and centuries a new carpet covers the basin, another cycle of

vegetation begins and continues its course until it also is pressed down under the water.
Thus there are two superposed beds of vegetable remains in process of slow decomposition,

or subjected to the beginning of the transformation into coal. Both layers are composed in

the same way, the lower part being a mass of the remains of small vegetation, mosses, water

plants, etc., the upper part covered with trees; that is, two beds of peat and two forests.
This exposition is a mere description of observed facts. In the Jura, a peat-bog forest

sank suddenly, and now lies at the bottom of a lake, over which a carpet of peat has since

grown. The bottom of Drummond Lake, in the Dismal Swamp, is formed of forest once growing

at the surface, but now prostrate in 15 to 20 feet of water. Beneath it lies a deposit of

the detritus of plants and a bed of peat, while the moss vegetation is now advancing into

the lake from all sides around its edge. In New-Jersey, on the sea shore, large tree trunks

are dug out of a muddy peat. Borings near New Orleans have traversed at various depths a

succession of beds of peat and forest separated by deposits of sand.
The process is more plainly exhibited in northern countries, where a colder climate is

particularly favourable to the growth of mosses, either as a work completed in the past or

still actively carried on and open to observation.
In Sweden and Denmark peat deposits, rarely of wide extent, but sometimes deep, are of

frequent occurrence. The soil is undulating and diversified with a great number of large

ponds or small lakes which have been filled up with peat growth.
Between Hirsholm and Waldmarsland, near Copenhagen, along a line of nine miles, are found

forty peat bogs, either isolated or connected by runners of water.
In one of these deposits the separate layers and composition was as follows :—At the

bottom, at the lowest level worked, lay 4 feet of black compact peat, and over it a stratum

of 4 feet of prostrated pine trees, most of them laid in the direction of the slope of the

basin, the tops of the trees pointing towards the centre. The trunks of a large number of

these trees measured from 6 to 10 inches in diameter; they still kept their branches,

embedded in a mass of leaves and cones, and even mushrooms. This was overlaid by a bed of

black peat 4 feet thick, covered in its turn by a bed of prosti-ated birch trees 3 feet

thick. Above this was a bed of peat 6 feet thick, less compact than those beneath it, and

of a yellowish colour, and covered by a stratum of large trunks of oaks, some of them 3

feet in diameter, which were used and sawed for timber. Over this layer was a fourth bed of

fibrous yellow peat 3| feet thick, made up mostly of not fully decomposed mosses. The full

thickness of this deposit was, so far as exposed in working, about 30 feet thick, but

others are known to be 60 feet deep.
The absorbing power of peat mosses enables them to grow higher and higher above their

original water-level, from which they thus gradually emerge. The peat of emerged bogs is

less compact, and the annual layers are distinct and well defined. At the top the layers

are about one inch thick, and at the bottom less than one-eighth of an inch, and in old

bogs still less. The average production of compact matter is at the rate of about 1 foot in

a century.
In immerged bogs, formed of vegetable debris falling into water, the peat grows slowly and

irregularly, but the actual rate of growth has not yet been recorded.
The peat of inimerged bogs is compact and quite black, the vegetable matter being entirely

decomposed and its internal structure generally so destroyed as to be unrecognisable. The

peat of emerged bogs is yellowish brown, fibrous, its annual layers are distinct, and the

woody fragments are generally recognisable,
92
The difference in the two kinds of peat furnishes grounds for supposing that cannel coal,

with its more compact texture and its destitution of any trace of horizontal annual layers

and of vegetable remains, has been produced by plant growth under water and decomposed

under water like submerged peat. Bituminous coal, on the other hand, with its distinct

stratification, appears to have been produced by the accumulation of vegetable materials

above water, and preserved against rapid decomposition by the great humidity of the air.
It is well established that immerged peats are thin, the thickest varying from 2 to 8 feet.

The bods of cannel coal, which are the ancient representatives of such lake bogs, are

usually thinner than those of bituminous coal.
Peat bogs in the low countries are extensively formed along the sea shore, especially near

the mouths of large rivers, and everywhere that an expanse of water has become enclosed, as

a lagoon sheltered from the invasion of the sea by bands of sand thrown up by the waves, or

along river valleys by the natural levees which border most rivers in some parts of their

course. These basins are invaded by plants and filled up with peat deposits. These still

retreats of vegetation are not always safe from disturbance, and though sheltered for a

time against rivers or the ocean, it happens that some extraordinary freshet, high tide, or

storm breaks down or through the barriers, and the peat bogs are covered with a deposit of

mud or sand.
Such results are clearly recorded in the constitution of peat bogs, which show the

interposed layers of sand and mud which interrupted their regular growth.
In the Nord (France) an average section is :—¦
Ft. In. ' Boggy humus ... ... ... ... ... 08
Grey marine sand or clay and marine shells ... 3 0
Blue marine clay and marine shells ... ... 3 0
Peat bed ................. 4 0
Sand, with Cardium and Lutrarias ... ... 0 5
Peat, rarely found, very thin, with carbnretted hydrogen.
The shells found in the marine sand and blue clay are:—Cardium edule, Lutraria compressa,

Littorina rudis, Buccinum undatum, Pholas Candida, Tellina balthica. etc. Marine shells are

never found in the peat, and river shells rarely.
Wherever the growth of peat is stopped by dryness or other cause the upper surface of the

peat becomes crusted, hardened, and transformed into a thin coating, quite impervious to

the entrance of foreign matter. The boggy humus forms on this hard crust, or whenever the

land is again submerged a new peat vegetation begins. In the latter "case the crust remains

as a parting layer between the two beds of peat, like the partings found in seams of coal.

Where the peat deposits are continuous it is found in numerous layers with variations in

quality, evidently due to a succession of different kinds of vegetation, and perhaps to a

variation in the degrees of prevailing humidity; this shows a definite resemblance to the

structure of coal seams.
The following section is taken in the Valley of the Somme (France):—
.Ft. In.
Calcareous sand, grey ... ... ... ... ... 0 8
Black band .................. 0 2
Peat, in thin plates ... ... ... ... ... 14
Argillaceous black peat ... ... ... ... 10
Calcareous concretions, full of shells ... ... ... 0 6
Black argillaceous matter ... ... ... ... 0 8
Greyish clay, full of shells ... ... ... ... 08
Argillaceous peat ... ... ... ... ... thin.
Calcareous concretions ... ... ... ... ... thin.
Laminated peat, with trunks of trees and leaves ... 10 0
On the coast of Holland the peat is worked by shafts. One shaft was sunk through 15 feet of

clay to the first bed of peat; between this and the second bed of peat was 14 feet of white

clay. The second peat was 18 feet thick, and beneath it lay 10 feet
of hard clay.
These sections are a clue to some of the more important problems of the constitution of the

Coal-Measures. The thin layers of clay which are interposed between peat deposits have

their analogy in the clay partings of coal. The heavy deposits of sand mixed with marine

shells and the calcareous concretions are, on a small scale, comparable to the beds of

sandstone, limestone, etc., which make up the alternate strata of the Coal-Measures between

seams.
It therefore plainly appears that in the growth of peat there is a microcosmic and true

representation of the formation of the ancient coal. M. W. B.
THE COAL-FIELDS OF THE URALS.
By V. Alexsaeef. Oorny Journal, April, 1888.
The author divides these coal-fields into two groups—(1) those of the west slope of the

Urals, namely, the Looneffsky, Kizeloffsky, and Upper and Lower Goobahinsky; (2) those of

the east slope of the Urals, the Kamensky, Leopoldo-Ferdinandoffsky, Fadinsky, and

Egorshinsky. The total amount of coal raised from these beds in 1885 was 10,875,368 puds

(175,408 tons).
The Looneffsky collieries include several seams which are worked by four separate pits. The

coal is brought direct to the railway line in the colliery tubs by a cable tram. These pits

are furnished with all the latest improvements in machinery, and are the property of Prince

Dimidoff. The coal contains from 3"28 to 4'12 per cent, of sulphur, 8'82 to 24*88 per cent,

of ash, and gives 55*4 to 67*73 per cent, of coke.
The Kizeloffsky Colliery is situated at 2 versts distance from the Looneffsky branch line

of the Ural Railway, and adjoins the Kizeloffsky Iron Works. Three seams are worked—the

Princess, the Korshoonoffsky and the Bogorodsky. The Princess Seam consists of four bands,

1*25 sachines (8*75 feet) to 0*5 sachine (3'5 feet) thick, with a dip of 6 degs. to 28

degs. to W. The Korshoonoffsky Seam also consists of four bands, of about the same

thickness as the preceding. Their dip is 6 degs. to 40 degs. to E. The Bogorodsky Seam

consists of two bands, 0*5 sachine (3*5 feet) thick, with a dip of 45 degs. to 70 degs. to

W. The Princess Seam is worked by three adit levels, driven into the three bands. The roof

of the upper band is sandstone, the floor clay-slate; the other two bands lie between

clay-slate. The system of working is post and stall. Levels are driven 30 sachines (120

feet) long and 2-5 to 3 sachines (17'5 to 21 feet) wide, and then connected by parallel

galleries, leaving pillars 6 to 9 sachines (42 to 63 feet) thick. Ventilation is natural.

The output of this pit is 22,000 puds (355 tons) per day. The coal is thrice screened,

through 2-inch, 1^-inch, and f-inch screens. The coal is dull, black, and has a coarse

slaty fracture. It gives 64*62 per cent, of a non-coherent coke.
The Korshoonoffsky pits are \\ versts from the railway, and are situated on the summit of a

hill, 62 sachines (454 feet) above the level of the river Kizil. There are two shafts, 10

and 14 sachines (70 and 98 feet) deep respectively. The coal is now worked on the post and

stall system. The coal has the following composition:—C = 64 per cent., H = 4*47 per cent.,

ash = 19*51 per cent. It is of an inferior quality, and gives 60*1 per cent, of -coke.
m
94
The Bogorodsky pits adjoin the Kizil railway station. The mine is worked by an adit level,

240 sachines (1,680 feet) long. This coal will not bear transport, and therefore is only

worked for local requirements, being used as a smithy coal. It gives 64*9 per cent, of a

very eompact coke, and has the following composition:—C = 65*55 per cent., H = 4-39 per

cent., ash = 17*01 per cent., moisture = I'll per cent. It is, undoubtedly, a gas coal.

These collieries are only worked during the winter, owing to want of hands during the

summer months. The price of these coals at the Kizil station in waggons varies from 2 to 6

copecs per pud (2s.^6d. to 7s. 6d. per ton). Their chief drawback is the high percentage of

sulphur they contain.
The Lower Goobahinsky Colliery is situated on the river Kosva, and is 20 versts (13^ miles)

south of the Kiziloffsky collieries. At the present time two seams are worked, the

Ivanoffsky and the Trofinoffsky. These seams run parallel, 5 archines (11 feet 8 inches) to

2 sachines (14 feet) apart, separated by bands of clay and hard sandstone. Their dip is 45

degs. to 53 degs., and their direction 8 degs. to N. They are worked from below upwards.

The price of the coal at the pit top is 5 to 6 copecs per pud (6s. 2^d. to 7s. 5£d. per

ton).
In 1886-87, 3,447,758 puds (55,606 tons) were raised from this colliery. The coal is very

hard, and has a slaty fracture of a greyish colour, and has the following composition:—C =

75*96 per cent., H = 5*31 per cent., O and N = 10-42 per cent., ash = 8*31 per cent. It

gives 56 per cent, of a grey, brittle coke.
The upper Goobahinsky Colliery is situated near the station Goobaha, on the Looneffsky

branch line. Three seams are worked, the Nicholas, the Varvara, and the Alexandra. The

Nicholas Seam is worked by two adit levels, and is about 1 sachine (7 feet) thick; its

general direction is 7 degs. to 8 degs. N.W., and occurs in a sandstone strata. The yearly

output of this seam is 2,200,000 puds (35,484 tons). The coal is black, with a greasy

lustre, it gives 63*55 per cent, of a compact coke, and has the composition C = 7084 per

cent., H = 5'00 per cent., ash = 14*56 per cent. It is a bituminous coal, and has a

calorific capacity of 7'686.
The Varvara Seam is no longer worked, and the Alexandra Seam is only lately opened out. The

roof is clay-slate, and the floor sandstone. Its direction is 10 degs. N.W., and its dip 30

degs. to B.
The Coal-fields on the East side of the Urals.—The Kamensky collieries are near the

Kamensky Iron Works, and have only been lately opened out. The best coal is won from No. 2

and No. 6 seams. No. 2 is, in parts, 1^ sachine (10^ feet) thick, but on the average 4^

feet. No. 6 is 2i feet thick. The coal from No. 6 easily cokes, and contains 23*6 per cent,

of ash. No. 2 coal is very black, with a greasy lustre; in coking it swells to two or three

times its volume, giving 78*3 per cent, of coke. It has the following composition:—S = 7

per cent., C = 82*5 per cent., H = 4*8 per cent., ash = 7*01 per cent, calorific power

8*044 units.
The Ferdinando-Leopoldoffsky Colliery. The coal seams have an exceedingly high inclination,

70 degs. to 80 degs. to W., with a direction N.W. 345 degs. The coal is very soft, and

gives 85*24 per cent, of a pulverulent coke; it has the following composition :—C = 81*52

per cent., H = 3*72 per cent., ash = 9*86 per cent., moisture = 0*45 per cent.
The Egorshinsky collieries are not in work. The coal is anthracitic, and contains no

sulphur, but much gas; it has the following composition:—C — 88*29 per cent., H =• 3*44 per

cent., W = 1*11 per cent., 0 = 4*02 per cent., ash =- 3*14 per cent.
The Fadinsky coal is not worked; it contains a very high proportion of carbon, having the

following composition:—C = 78*16 per cent., H = 2*77per cent., Oand N - 6*77 per cent., ash

= 12*30 per cent. J. H. M.
INDEX TO VOL. XXXVII.
Note.—The dash (—) at the beginning of a line denotes the repetition of a word; in the case

of Names, it includes both Christian Name and Surname. " Abs." signifies Abstracts of

Foreign Papers at end of the Proceedings. Discussions and local names of coal-seams and

other strata are denoted by italics.
Achari>, —, new safety cage, abs. 71. Ackeoyd, W., safety-lamp cleaning
machine, 121. Acomb coal, 12. Acre coal, 13. — limestone, 13. Adamson, —, quoted, 222.

Aden, earthquakes, 56. Africa, coal, abs. 63,78. Air-blast coal separator, abs. 45.

Aix-la-Chapelle, coal-dust experiments,
abs. 82. Alberts, C, geology of Roumania, abs.78.
Alby, —, sinking by freezing, abs. 39.
Alexsaeff, V., Ural coal-fields, abs. 93, 94.
Al-justrel, 29.
Allan, J., pyrites deposits of Huelva, 27-44.
Allerdean coal, 13.
Allerdene, 19.
Almaden, abs. 38, 39.
Alnwick district, seams of, 13.
— moor, 19.
Alston, anthracite, 121.
Altenwald colliery (Saarbriicken), 137.
Altwasser coals, abs. 3.
Amandus lode (Saxony), abs. 1.
Ambulance, Fitzwilliam, 260.
America, South, coal production, abs. 78.
American coal (Punta Arenas), abs. 45.
Analyses of anthracite (Italy), abs. 2.
-------apatite (Canada), abs. 37.
-------basic slag (France), abs. 31.
-------bauxite (Prance), abs. 4.
-------clay (Berry), abs. 13.
-------coals (Australia), 149.
-----------(Caucasus), 90-93.
-----------• (China), abs. 5, 18.
-----------(France), abs. 88.
----------. (India), abs. 49.
-----------(Italy), abs. 2, 37.
-----------(Russia), abs. 94.
-----------(Silesia), abs. 3.
-----------(Sumatra), abs. 67.
-------dolomite, abs. 65.
-------gases in coal-dust, 245.
-------Henderson steel, abs. 65, 66.
-------iron ores (Berry), abs. 12.
---------------(Michigan), abs. 74.
---------------(Mississippi), abs. 6.
---------------(Spain), 30.
-------" metal blanquillo" (Spain), 34.
-------peat (Italy), abs. 15, 16.
-------phosphate (Somme), abs. 31.
-------pyrites (France), abs. 71.
-----------(Spain), 39, 40.
-------shale (Italy), abs. 11.
-------siliceous deposit (Berry), abs. 12.
-------slag (France), abs. 31
-----------(Spain), 33.
-------steel (N. America), abs. 65, 66.
K K
Ancroft, 18. Annual Report, 219. Anthracite (Alston), 121.
— (Italy), abs. 2.
— measures of Pennsylvania, abs. 41. " Apatite (Canada), abs. 37.
Argentine Republic, petroleum, abs. 36. Arlberg Tunnel, temperature, abs. 61. Armstrong-,

Lord, quoted, 23, 24. Armstrong, W. Jun., fan committee,
182, 186. —- federation of institutes. 155.
— member of council, 220.
Arndt, C, grain warehouse explosion at
Hamelin, abs. 22. Arond process for clearing fire-damp,
abs. 69. Ashburner (U.S. America), natural gas,
abs. 57. Ashington district, seams of, 7. Asip River (Sumatra), abs. 67. Asnalcollar, 29.

Astiroz, F., quoted, 41. Atapupu (Timor), abs. 67. Atkinson, J. B., correlation of seams,

124.
— electric lamp, 114.
— member of council, 220. Auckland district, seams of, 6, 125. Australia, coal production,

abs. 78.
— coal nodules, 145.
— coals, abs. 45.
— collieries, 145.
— tin, abs. 35.
Austria, coal production, abs. 78. Auzits coal-field (Aveyron), abs. 4. Aveyron coal-field,

abs. 4. Azoff, sea of, 95.
" B " seam (Crook), 6. Baku, 89, 95, 96.
Bailey, J. and G. Culley, quoted, 9. Bainbridge, Emerson, miner's safety-lamp, 75-78.

Bakewell, R., quoted, 19. Balchan, Great and Little, abs. 59. Ballarat seam, 6. Bamburgh,

50.
Banat, iron ores, abs. 49.
Bannamoor, 20.
Barkoi, coal-field (India), abs. 49.
Barlow, —, quoted, 141, 222, 224.
Barlow Fell seam, 7, 126.
Barmoor, 19.
Barometer readings for 1887, 261-267;
plates I.-IV. (appendix). Barrallier, —, quoted, 223. Barth, K., self-acting water tank,

abs. 51. Bartlett, P. L., ore sorting, abs. 64. Basement beds (Carboniferous), 3. Basic

slag as manure, abs. 31. Batoum, 95, 96. Bauer's coke ovens, abs. 21. Bauxite, abs. 4.

Bavington, Little, coal, 12. Bayles, J. E., spirally-welded tubing,
abs. 63. Beadnell, 18.
— Main coal, 13.
— Main limestone, 13.
— Stone Close coal, 13.
— Windmill coal, 13, 19. Beal, 18.
Beaufoy, Col., quoted, 223. Beaumont seam, 6,7. Beauval (Somme), phosphates, abs. 31,70.

Bedson, Prof. P. P., Ryhope explosion, 197, 215, 216.
— coal-dust, 245, 256, 257. Bedlington, 126.
Belgium, Carboniferous of, abs. 63.
— coal production of, abs. 78.
Bell, Sir Lowthian, earth tremors, 61-67.
— safety-lamp, 74.
— presentation to Mr, T. W. Bunning, 129-132.
— death of Mr. T. E. Harrison, 132. —federation of institutes, 155,158,165,
172, 174-177.
— coal-dust, 258.
— on vacating the presidency, 260. Bell, T. Hugh, quoted, 141. Bell Brothers, quoted, 221.

Belsay district, seams of, 13.
Benguela, abs. 63.
Bensham seam, 6, 7, 126.
Benson, T. W., member of council, 220.
Benton, Prof., federation of institutes,
155, 159, 169. Benwell Main coal, 7. Bergeron, J., Auzits coal-field (Aveyron),
abs. 4. Berkley, C, vice-president, 220. Bernician series, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13. Berrington,

18.
Berry, iron ore, abs. 13.
Bertelli, —, quoted, 59.
Berthelot's calorimetric bomb, abs. 86.
Berwick Hill, 20.
Bewick, T. J., quoted, 10.
— correlation of seams, 23, 25.
— Suelva pyrites deposits, 51.
—federation of institutes, 155,159,169.
— vice-president, 220.
Bird, W. J., iron supports in mines,
135-145. Birkheads, 18. Birkinbine, J., resources of Lake
Superior region, abs. 8. Birmingham (Alabama), abs. 65. Bischoee, —, quoted, abs. 89.

Bishop Auckland, 24. Biteabout coal, 13. — limestone, 13. Black Close seam, 126. Black sea,

89-91, 95, 96; abs. 58. Blackburn, W.T., nomination, 1; election, 53. Blackett, W. C,

miner's electric lamp,
115.
BlacTchill coal, 13.
Blake crusher, abs. 69.
Blake seam, 7.
Blanchland, abs. 1.
Blaneord, Dr. W. T., quoted, abs. 49.
Blomeke, C, coal production of the
world, abs. 78. Blowers of carbonic acid gas, abs. 32-34. Blyth district, seams of, 7, 126.

Bochet, L., Waldenburg coal-field (L.
Silesia), abs. 3.
Boghall coal, 12.
Bogorodsky coal (Urals), analysis of,
abs. 94. Bohemia, earthquake, 56. Boldon, 152. Bonacossa, A., silver-lead of Sardinia,
abs. 6. Borehole seam (N.S. Wales), 145. Boreholes, new uses of, abs. 16. Boryslaw,

Ozokerite, abs. 55. Botany, 19.
Boulders in coal, abs. 62. Boyd, E. P., quoted, 10. Boyd, R. F., member of council, 220.

Bradley, P. W., cheap mining and
milling, abs. 75. Brainerd, A. P., carbonate iron ore in
Mississippi, abs. 6. Brakes for winding engines, abs. 43. Bramwell, H., horizon of Low

Main seam in part of Durham coal-field, 151-153. Brandt's hydraulic drilling

machines,
abs. 34. Brass Thill seam, 6, 152, 153. Bresson, —, outburst of fire-damp and
carbonic acid gas, abs. 72. Breton, —, phosphates of Beauval
(Somme), abs. 70. Brinkburn district, seams of, 13,18. British Columbia, mineral

statistics, abs.
56. Brittany, silver-lead mines of, abs. 7. Brockivell seam, 3, 6, 7, 24, 125, 127,
128. Brongniart, C. new fossil fish in Com-
mentry coal-measures, abs. 86. Brookville Co. (Penn.), abs. 74. Broomhill district, seams

of, 7. Brown, A. P., pyrites in coal, abs. 74. Brown, M. Walton, coal-dust, 256.
— correlation of seams in North of England, 3-21, 24, 124, 126.
— earth tremors, 66, 112.
—fan committee, 181, 182, 187.
— federation of institutes, 155, 175.
— member of council, 220.
Brown, M. Walton, quoted, 55, 101.
— Ryhope explosion, 197, 215, 216. Brown, T. Fo~&ster, federation of institutes, 155, 164,

176-179.
Brown coal (Roumania), abs. 79. Buddie, J., quoted, 22, 125. Budle, 50. Buisson, —, abs.

69.
— walling of shafts, abs. 72. Buitron, 27, 50.
Bullock Island (N.S. Wales), 145-148. Bulman coal, 13. Bunning, C. Z., election, 1.

Bunning, T. W., electric lamp, 113.
— 'presentation to, on retirement, 129-132.
— quoted, abs. 81. Burmah, earthquake, 56. Buston, 18.
Busty seam, 6, 126. Busty Bank seam, 6, 126. Butte (Montana), abs. 4.
Cackett, J. T.j presentation by, 85.
Cage catches, abs. 42.
Cahonga R. (Benguela), abs. 63.
Calanas mine, 30.
Caldside coal, 13.
Caledonia, New, ores of, abs. 68.
California, abs. 76.
Callerton district, seams of, 7.
Calorimeter, Berthelot's, abs. 87.
— Favre and Silbermann's, abs. 87.
— Thompson's, abs. 86. Cambridge Co. (Penn.), abs. 75. Campani, C, analyses of Italian

lignites,
abs. 37. Camphausen colliery (Saarbriicken), abs.
79. Canada, apatite, abs. 37.
— coal production, abs. 78.
— iron ores, abs. 8. Cancer coal, 13. Cannel seam, 15.
Carbonic acid gas blowers, abs. 32, 34, 72. Carboniferous formation, 3, 4,6,7,12,13.
— of Huelva, 29.
------W. Liguria, abs. 2.
Carinthia, coals of, abs. 61. Carlean, T., quoted, abs. 35. Carpathian mountains, abs. 78.

Caspian sea, 89. Castelnuovo, lignite, abs. 37. Catches, safety, for cages, abs. 42.
-------for inclined planes, abs. 30.
Catelin, — de, spontaneous combustion
of pyrites, abs. 71. Catrice apparatus for re-lighting locked
safety-lamps, abs. 54. Caucasus, chert, 96.
— coal, 89.
— naphtha, abs. 58. Central France, abs. 47, 48. Centre Co. (Penn.), abs. 75. Centrifugal

fans, abs. 51.
Chalon, P. F., improvements in shot-firing, abs. 28, 29.
Chambers. A. M.,fan committee, 182, 186.
—federation of institutes, 15, 163, 165, 173.
Chance, Dr. H. M., quoted, abs. 57.
Charleroi, coals of, abs. 88.
Charlestown, earthquake, 56.
Chatton, 19.
Chert (Caucasus), 96.
— (N.S. Wales), 147. China, coal, abs. 5, 17, 18, 23.
— coal production, abs. 78. Chirm, 18.
Chirm coal, 13.
— limestone, 13. Christon bank, 18. Chromite (Timor), abs. 67. Chromium (New Caledonia),

abs. 68. Clarion Co. (Penn.), abs. 74. Clarke, C. P., quoted, 70. Clattery, 20.
Clay (Berry), analysis, abs. 13. Clearfield Co. (Penn.), abs. 75. Clermont, —, outbursts

of fire-damp
and carbonic acid gas, abs. 72. Cleveland, abs. 1.
— mines, 221. Closing Hill seam, 6.
Coal (Australia), 145, 146, 149.
— (Carinthia), abs. 61.
— (Caucasus), 89-93.
— (China), abs. 5, 17, 18, 23, 78.
— (France), abs. 4, 87, 88.
— (Germany), abs. 45, 51.
— (India), abs. 49.
— (Italy), abs. 2, 37.
— (N.S. Wales), 145, 146, 149.
— (Roumania), abs. 79.
— (Russia), abs. 93, 94.
— (Silesia), abs. 3.
— (Styria), abs. 61.
— (Sumatra), abs. 67.
— (Westphalia), abs. 51.
— gases in, 245.
— origin of, abs. 47, 89.
— dust, 241-259; abs. 45, 50,77, 80-85. -------gases in, 247, 253, 254.
-------explosion at Kreuzgraben, abs. 79.
— measure fish, new, abs. 86.
— measures, 3, 4, 6, 7. -------lower, 127, 128.
— nodules, 145.
— screens, spiral sieve, abs. 18.
— washer, new, abs. 70. Coalybai-s, 19. Coanwood, seams of, 15. Cobalt (New Caledonia),

abs. 68. Cochrane, W., Caucasian coal, 98, 100.
— electric lamp, 116. —fan committee —.
— federation of institutes, 155,165,170, 175-177.
— vice-president, 220. Cockfield district, seams of, 6, 129. Coercebi, 90.
Cohen, E., South African diamonds and
gold in 1886, abs. 7. Coke ovens, Bauer's, abs. 21. Coldrife, 19.
Collins, —, quoted, 50. Collot, L., bauxites of S.E. France,
abs. 4. Columbia, British, mineral statistics, abs.
56. Combelle colliery, abs. 72.
Combustion, spontaneous, of pyrites., abs.
71. Commentry, abs. 47. Conch, —, quoted, 223. Concretions, plant, in Westphalian coal,
abs. 62. Consett district, seams of, 6, 126. Constantinople, 95. Coomroof seam, 15.

Cooper-eye seam, 13. Copenhagen, abs. 91. Copper (Australia), abs. 38..
— (Michigan), abs. 8.
— (Sumatra), abs. 67.
— (Tambo Valley), abs. 38.
— (Timor), abs. 67.
— extraction, abs. 70. - ¦
— River (Timor), abs. 67. Copperas (Dortmund), abs. 51. Coquet, R., 3, 16!
Cordova, 27.
Cortese, E., geology of Madagascar,
abs, 14. Council, election, 220. Coxhoe, 24. Craw coal, 12. Creuzot, slag, abs. 31.

Crighton, J., election, 1. Crone, S. C, member of council, 220. Cronshill limestone, 13.

Crook district, seams of, 6. Crow coal, 6, 7, 126. Crusher, Blake, abs. 64. Cubangui, Rio,

abs. 63. Culley and J. Bailey, quoted, 9. Culm, abs. 63. Cumberland, 15.
Cuvelier's lock for lamps, abs. 1. Cyclops mine (Michigan), abs. 74.
Daglish, J., fan committee, 181-188.
— federation of institutes, 155,167,170, 171, 175-179.
— quoted, 16, 95.
— Byhope explosion, 197, 215, 216.
— safety-lamps, 72, 74.
— vote of thanks to president, 259.
Danian of Spain, abs. 86.
Daussin, —, automatic feeding pump,
abs. 68. David, T. W. E., geology of Vegetable
Creek tinfield, N.S. Wales, abs. 35. Davy, —, Huelgoat mines (Brittany),
abs. 7. Db Bergne & Co., quoted, 222. Debden, 20. Decazeville, abs. 4. Deepening shafts,

abs. 58. Deligny, -—, quoted, 34. Demeure, A., Stauss's keps at Baseoup
colliery, abs. 40. Denmark, peat, abs. 91. Denton district, seams of, 7. Denton Low Main

seam, 7. Denwick, 18. Denwich Big coal, 13. Detchant, 19. Devonian (Huelva), 29. Diamond

coal, 13. Diamonds (S. Africa), abs. 7. Dilworth (U.S. America), natural gas,
abs. 57. Dimidoff, Prince —, quoted, abs. 93. Dingler, Karcher, & Co., quoted, abs.
44. Dinoire, —, automatic stops for wagons
on inclines, abs. 71. Dismal Swamp, abs. 91. Dobinson, L., nomination, 53, election, 87.

Doddington, 19. Doganeska (Banat), abs. 36. Dolomite, analysis of, abs. 65. Donetz, 95, 96.

Dortmund district, mineral produce of,
abs. 51. Doubleday, T., quoted, 130. Douglas, T., vice-president, 220. Doxford, 19.
Draganesci, petroleum, abs. 79. Drilling machines, abs. 34. Drummond, Lake, abs. 91.

Dryburn, 18.
— coal, 13.
— limestone, 13.
Duke seam, 7.
Dumas, E. L., Bornet's hand'boring
machine, 117. Dun coal, 13.
— limestone, 13.
Dunn, Dr. J. T., Ryhope explosion, 197. DrjRANT hand-boring machine, abs. 57. Duration of

Newcastle coal-held, 9. Durham (county) limestone, coal-seams of, 13.
— salt, abs. 1. Dynamite, abs. 45.
Earth tremors at Marsden, 56, 57.
------Report on, 55.
Earthquakes, Bohemia, 56.
— Burmah, 56.
— Charlestown, 56.
— Japan, 55, 56, 59.
— Nice, 56.
— St. Louis, 56. Ebsnook, 18. Felwell limestone, 13.
— Lower and Upper coals, 13. Eight-Yard limestone, 13. Eglingham, 20.
Egorshinsky collieries (Urals), abs. 93.
Elba, iron ores, abs. 36.
Electricity, copper extraction by, abs. 70.
— incline worked by, abs. 80. Elliot, Sir G-., quoted, abs. 9. Elsmore, —, quoted, abs. 35.

Embleton, 18.
Emmons, S. P., geology of Butte, Montana, abs. 5.
Engine seam, 7.
Eppleton, 152.
Eritoee, Prince, quoted, abs. 59.
Etal, 20.
Eurikli, 95.
Evens, T., fan committee, 181-187.
Ewing, Prof., quoted, 55, 57, 58.
Exhibition, Newcastle, abs. 1.
Explosion, coal-dust, abs. 80-85.
-------Kreuzgraben (Saarbriicken), abs.
79.
Explosion, fire-damp, abs. 9.
Explosions, fire-damp, in France (1817-
1884), abs. 26-28. Explosives, trials of, abs. 45, 49, 50.
Fabri, E., quoted, abs. 36. Fadinky coals (Urals), abs. 93. Falloden, 18. Fan ventilation

committee, 181-193.
— Geisler, abs. 44.
— Ser portable, abs. 32.
— underground, abs. 44. Fans, centrifugal, abs. 51. Fassett, 19.
Fassett coal, 13.
Favre and Silbermann's calorimeter, abs.
86. Fayol, H., origin of coal, abs. 45. Fearby and Elsmore, Messrs., quoted,
abs. 35. Federation of mining institutes, 155. Felkington, 20. Felltop limestone, 12, 13.

Fennema, R., mining in Sumatra, abs. 67. Fenwick, 19. Findlay, natural gas in U.S.

America,
abs. 47. Fire-damp, commission report (Prussian),
abs. 77.
— detection, abs. 45.
— explosion (Hungary), abs. 9.
— explosions (France, 1817-1884), abs. 26-28.
— firing in mines containing, abs. 72.
— method of clearing, abs. 69.
— outbursts of, abs. 72.
— variation of vohime in a working district, abs. 77.
Fish, fossil (Commentry), abs. 86. Fitzwilliam, Lady Alice, 260.
— ambulance, 260.
Five-Quarter seam, 6, 7, 15, 126.
Five- Yard limestone, 12, 13.
Fleetham, 19.
Fleetham coal, 13.
Fletcher, L., nomination, 87; election,
129. Foot coal, 15.
Ford, 18.
— Moss, 19.
Formation of coal-seams, new theory of,
15. Forster, G. B., annual report, 219.
— gauzeless safety-lamp, 72, 74.
— quoted, 16.
— Ryhope explosion, 197, 213.
— steel v. timber in mines, 244.
— vote of thanks to president, 259. Forster, G. W., election, 1. Forster, T. E., jun„

correlation of
seams, 126.
— coal nodules from Austi'alia, 145. Forster, T. E., sen., quoted, 9,10. Four-Fathom

limestone, 12. Fourlaws coal, 12.
Fourstones coal, 12. France, central, abs. 47, 48.
— coal production of, abs. 78.
— iron ores of, abs. 11. Franchepre colliery (Lorraine), abs. 72. Freire-Marreco, Prof. A.,

quoted, 245. French coals, analyses of, abs. 88.
-------heating power of, abs. 87.
Friction match for shots, abs. 45. Fulton, J., iron ores of Michigan, abs. 74. Fimfkirchen

coal, abs. 62.
Furnace seam, 12.
Galicia, Ozokerite, abs. 39, 55. Gamlitz coal (Styria), abs. 61. Gannister beds, 3, 4, 6,

7, 15, 126-128. Garesfield, 126.
— district, seams of, 7.
Garforth, —, fan committee, 187, 188. Garnett, Prof. W., earth tremors report, 58-65, 67.
— llyhope explosion, 214, 215. Garnier, J., ores of New Caledonia, abs.
68. Gas, natural (U.S. America), abs. 57. Gases enclosed in coal, 245.
--------------dust, 247.
Gauzeless safety-lamps, 72-74. Gteishler, 90. Geisler fan, abs. 44.
Geology of Butte (Montana), abs. 5.
-------Huelva, 29.
-------Madagascar, abs. 14.
------¦ Timor, abs. 67.
Gerhard colliery (Westphalia), abs. 81. Geehaedt, W., quoted, abs. 44. German coals,

comparative value of, abs.
45. Germany, coal production of, abs. 78. Gibsone, E., quoted, 9. Givins (seam), 7. Glebe

seam, 7, 126. Gnech, G., silver-lead mines of Sardinia,
abs. 6. Godillot, G. A., grate for poor fuels,
abs. 68. Gogebic iron mines, abs 8. Gold (Benguela), abs. 63.
— (S. Africa), abs. 7.
— (Sumatra), abs. 67.
— (Tambo Valley, Australia), abs. 38.
— (Timor), abs. 67.
— extraction by calcium chloride, abs. 60.
— River (Timor), abs. 67. Goobahinsky collieries (Urals), abs. 93. Gottesberg coal,

analysis of, abs. 3. Gottesegen mine, abs. 19. Gotting, —, Servian mines, abs. 10. Gbaff,

L., underground ventilating fan,
abs. 44. Geaham, Pbof., quoted, abs. 33. Geand 'Ettey, quoted, abs. 89. Grand Lease seam,

7. Grandola, 29. Great Britain, coal production of, abs. 78.
— limestone, 12.
— Whittington coal, 12. Greeneyes coal, 12. Greenlawalls, 20. Greenses, 18.
— coal, 13.
— limestone, 13.
Geeenwell, G. C, quoted, 9, 24, 125.
Gregory, —, 223.
Geesley, W. S., letter on origin of coal,
123, 124. Grey seam, 7.
Geossouvee, — de, iron ores of central
France, abs. 11. Grove seam, 7. Guadiana, 27. Gtmnerton coal, 12. Gtteich, De. G., boulders

in coal (U.
Silesia), abs. 62. Gutheib, R., election, 219.
Haines, R., federation of institutes, 155,
161, 177, 178. Halifax coal-measures, abs. 63. Hall, T. Y., quoted, 9. Hall, W. P., Ryhope

explosion, 197.
— quoted, 245, 256. Hallington coal, 12.
Halske, —, inclines worked by electricity, abs. 80.
Hamelin, grain warehouse explosion at, abs. 22.
Hanaete, G., blowers of carbonic acid gas at Rochebelle colliery (Lorraine), abs. 32-34.
Hanbury slates (Michigan), abs. 74.
Hand seam, 7.
Hansa collieries (Westphalia), abs. 62, 81.
Harai coal-field, abs. 49.
Sard coal, 6.
Hardy coal, 13, 20.
Hargill Kill seam, 127.
Haebison, T. E., death, 132.
Hartley district, seams of, 7.
— stone coal, 7. Hartz, the, 50.
— mines, 136. Harvey seam, 6.
Haulage, systems of; presentation of
drawing, 85. Haunted stream (Australia), gold, abs. 38. Hawkhill, 18. Hazon Lea, 18.

Hebburn, 16.
— Fell seam, 6.
Hedley, W. H., correlation of seams, 125.
— iron supports in mines, 142.
— member of council, 220.
— scrutineer, 219.
Heinitz Dechen colliery (Neunkirchen),
abs. 42. Hellhofnte, abs. 45, 49, 50. Hendeeson steel, abs. 65. Heneotte, J., centrifugal

fans, abs. 51. Heraclea, 95.
Hermsdorf coal, analyses of, abs. 3. Heme (Westphalia), abs. 44. Heeschbl, Peof. A. S., on

seismoscope,
101. Hetton (Northumberland), 18.
— coal houses, 19.
— coals, 13. Hickley, 19. High Main, 6, 126.
Hill Head Dene Well, 18.
Hilt, C, experiments on explosions of
coal-dust and gas, abs. 80. Hingladevi coal-field, abs. 49. Hirsholm, abs. 91. Hobberlaw,

19.
— coal, 13.
— limestone, 19. TLodge seam, 7.
Hofmann, Ad., mammalian remains in
Styrian coal, abs. 61. Holland, peat, abs. 93. Holmes, J. H. H., quoted, 9. Holy Island,

18. Holyivell Reins seam, 7. Rorsleywood seam, 7. Houghton, 152. Hounden Dene, 16. Houssu

collieries (Belgium), abs. 39. Howabd, W. P., federation of institutes,
155, 163. Huelgoat mines (Brittany), abs. 7. Huelva, geology and mines of, 27-51. Hungary,

abs. 45.
— coal production of, abs. 78.
— fire-damp explosion in, abs. 9. Hunter River (Australia), 145, 148. Huntingdon mills,

abs. 76. Hutchins, H., incandescent lamps in
explosive gases, abs. 73. Hexham, Host., fan committee, 181, 182, 184, 185, 187, 188.
Hydraulic brakes for winding engines, abs. 43.
— drilling machines, abs. 34.
Incandescent lamps in explosive gases,
abs. 73. Incline worked by electricity, abs. 80. Inclined planes, safety catches for, abs.

30. India, coal-fields of, abs. 49.
— coal production, abs. 78.
— minerals of, abs. 48. Institutes, federation of mining, 155. Inverell (N.S. Wales), tin,

abs. 35. Iron (Lake Superior), abs. 8.
— ore (Australia), abs. 38.
-------(Banat), abs. 36.
-------(Berry), abs. 13.
•------(Dortmund), abs. 51.
-------(Elba), abs. 36.
-------(France), abs. 11, 13.
-------(Michigan), abs. 74.
-------(Mississippi), abs. 6.
-------(New Caledonia), abs. 68.
-------(Tambo valley), abs. 38.
-------(Timor), abs. 67.
— supports in mines, 135-145. Ievine, J. R., nomination, 2; election, 53.
— scrutineer, 219. Italy, anthracite.
— clay schists, abs. 11.
— lignites, abs. 37.
— peat, abs. 15.
Jackson, J., federation of institutes,
155, 159, 163. Janet, L., Cateice's apparatus, abs. 54. Japan, coal production, abs. 78.
— coals, abs. 45.
— earthquake observations, 55, 56,59,60, Jbpson, H., scrutineer, 219.
Jet seam, 6, 7.
Jevons, Peof. S., quoted, 23, 24. Jitillain, —, quoted, abs. 1. Jitea Mountains, abs. 91.
Kaiserstuhl pit (Westphalia), abs. 77. Kamensky collieries (Urals), abs. 93. L L
Kanhan coal-fields, abs. 49.
Kenton district, seams of, 7-
Kenton main coal, 7.
Kestner, —, Thompson's calorimeter,
abs. 86. Kiln coal, 13.
Kizeloffsky collieries (Urals), abs. 93. Kohlendorf coal, analysis, abs. 3. Kdnig colliery

(Saarbriicken), abs. 30. Kosmann, Dr. B., Bauer's coke ovens,
abs. 21. Kota Poenkoet (Sumatra), abs. 67. Keaeft and See, quoted, abs. 51. Kreuzgraben

colliery (Saarbrucken), abs.
79. Kribikaris-gali River, 92. Kuntze, —, quoted, abs. 89. Kupfee, Peof., quoted, 93.

Kurila, 90, 96. Kuta'is, 89, 90. Kwamli.
Kwong Yttng Kwang, coal mining in A1. China, abs. 23.
— Kaiping coal mine, abs. 5. Kyloe, 18.
Lady coal, 13.
Lagory hills, 90.
Lake Superior mines, abs. 8.
Lamargere system of shot-tiring, abs.72.
Lambton colliery (N.S. Wales), 145.
Lauee's system of igniting shots, abs. 45.
Lawrence, H., ir.on supports in mines,
142. —¦ member of council, 220. —¦ Ryhope explosion, 197, 213. Le Verrier, —, new method of

copper
extraction, abs. 70. Lead (Brittany), abs. 9.
— (Caucasus), 96.
— (Dortmund), abs. 51.
— (Sumatra), abs. 67.
— (Tambo valley), abs. 38.
— (Timor), abs. 67. Leamington 20.
Lebotjr, Prof. G. A., Caucasian coal, 199.
Lebotjr, Prof. G. A., correlation of seams, 22, 23, 127, 128.
— earth tremors, 64, 65, 67, 112. —federation of institutes, 155, 157.
— Suelva deposits, 49.
— quoted, 10.
— secretary, 130.
Lee, Or., endless chain in Spain, 81-85. Lee, W., nomination, 2; election, 53. Lemiere, —,

new coal washer, abs. 70. Lens collieries, abs. 71. Leopoldo-Ferdinandoffsky collieries
(Urals), abs. 93. Lesquereux, Peof. L., vegetable origin
of coal, abs. 89. Levy, P., phosphates of the Soinme, abs.
31. Lewisburn coal, 12. Licker, 18.
— limestone, 13.
— Main coal, 13. Lignite (Italy), abs. 37. Liguria, abs. 2. Lipgart, Capt., quoted, 90.

Little Bavington coal, 12.
— coal, 6, 15.
— Sowgate coal, 13.
— limestone, 12, 17.
— mill, 18.
— Wonder seam, 7. Littlehoughton, 18.
Lishman, T., member of council, 220. Lishman, W., member of council, 220.
— Ryhope explosion, 197. Liversidge, Peof. A., quoted, 149. Longframlington, 18. Longhirst

Top seam, 7. Longhoughton, 18. Longridge, —, quoted, 95. Longwitton Bottom seam, 13.
— Top seam, 13.
Looneffsky collieries (Urals), abs. 93. Lotti, Prof. B., iron ores of Banat and
Elba, abs. 36. Low Dene limestone, 13. Low Main seam, 6, 7, 126, 151-153. Lowick, 18.
Lowick Lime coal, 13.
Lttcas, J'., federation of institutes, 155,
161. Lttkis, —, Huelgoat mines, abs. 7. Lumley, 152^. Lttttgen, E., magnesium carbonate as

a
non-conductor of heat, abs. 42.
Mackenzie, E., quoted, 9. Macnab, Dr., quoted, 9. Macquarie, lake, 145. Madagascar, geology

of, abs. 14. Madelay, coal-dust experiments, abs. 82. Maestra, —, quoted, 29, 49. Magnesium

carbonate as a non-conductor
of heat, abs. 42. Main coal, 6, 7, 13, 15, 126. Mallet, F. R., minerals of India, abs.
48. Mammalian remains in Styrian coal, abs.
61. Manganese (Caucasus), 96. Manure, basic slag, abs. 31. Marienberg silver mine (Saxony),

abs. 1. Mariopol, 95. Markham, ¦—, gauzeless safety-lamp, 69,
74. Marley, J., correlation of seams, 124,
125, 127, 128.
— president, 220.
— Ryhope explosion, 217.
— quoted, 4.
—federation of institutes, 155,166,175-
178. Marquette iron mines, abs. 8. Maereco, Prof. A. Freire-, quoted, 245. Marsden, 101.
— earth tremors, 56, 57.
Marshall Green seam, 4,6,125,127,128. Maskelyne, Prof. N. S., quoted, 112. Massa, lignites

of, abs. 37. Mathet, —, ser portable fan, abs. 32. Maudlin seam. 6, 126, 151, 152.

Maussier, —, walling of shafts, abs. 71. Mayer, J., abs. 45, 46. Mazzuoli, L.,

carboniferous of liguria, abs. 2.
McCarthy, E., election, 1. McKinless, J., gauzeless safety-lamp,
69-74. McLaren, B. N., and J. T. Cackett,
presentation by, 85. Mechanical ventilators' committee, 181. Melmerby scar limestone, 12.

Menominee iron mines, abs. 8.
— range, abs. 74.
— River, abs. 74.
Mercer county (Penn.), abs. 74. Mercky, — de, quoted, abs. 31. Meeivale, Prof. J. H.,

Bainbridge safety-lamp, 79.
— correlation of seams, 23.
— gauzeless safety-lamp, 73.
— member of council, 220.
— iron supports in mines, 244. Merle, —, quoted, abs. 31, 70. Metal blanquillo, analysis,

34. Metal coal, 6.
Meyer, C, and W. J. Bird, iron supports
in mines, 135-143. Meyer, Dr. E. von, quoted, 245. Mezzena, E., Newcastle exhibition,
abs. 1. Michigan iron ores, abs. 74 Midgeholme, seams of, 15. Milan mine, abs. 64. Mills,

M. H., federation of institutes,
155, 159, 173. Millstone grit, 3, 4, 6, 7, 15, 125, 127,
128. Mineral statistics (see countries). Mines (see names). Mining institutes, federation

of, 155. Mississippi, abs. 89. Mitchell, Jos., federation of institutes,
155, 172. Monhton seam, 6. Monkwearmouth, 24. Moorland seam, 7, 126. Moravicza (Banat),

abs. 36. Morena, Sierra, 27. Morpeth district, seams of, 7. Mortier. —, ignition of shots

in fiery
mines, abs. 30.
Moetiee, —, safety catches for inclined
planes, abs. 30. Morton, 20. Mountain limestone series. 10.
------------(Tweed to Coquet), 16.
Muckle Howgate coal, 13.
Muegue, D., quoted, abs. 51.
Murton, 126.
Miieton, C. J., Caucasian coal, 87, 89,
99, 100.
Nakeral mountains, 81, 91. Naphtha, Transcaspian, abs. 58. Nasse, —, quoted, abs. 62.

Natural gas in America, abs. 57. Neftanaga Cora (Caucasus), abs. 59. Neu- Stassf urt salt

mine, abs. 80. Neunkirchen (Saarbriicken), abs. 42, 80. Nevada county (California), abs 75.

New Almaden, abs. 39.
— Caledonia, ores of, abs. 68.
— Jersey, abs. 91.
— Orleans, abs. 91.
— South Wales, coal, 145. ------------tin, abs. 35.
— Zealand, coal, abs. 45. Newbiggen Stone coal, 7. Newbottle, 152. Newcastle (N.S. Wales),

145. Newcastle-upon-Tyne exhibition, abs. 1. Newhouses Woods, 18.
Newton, 18.
Newton Underwood seam, 13.
Niboeng (Sumatra), abs. 67.
Nice, earthquake, 56.
Nickles, R., cretaceous of S.E. Spain,
abs. 86. Nine- Yard limestone, 13. Nobby's Head (N.S. Wales), 147. Nord, peat, abs. 92.

Noeth, P. W., quoted, 92. North Sunderland, 18. Norway mine (Michigan), abs. 74.
— peat, abs. 91.
— timber, 231.
Oakioood coal, 12.
Odessa, 95, 96.
Odiel, K., 27.
Oeking, H. L.
Ohio, natural gas, abs. 57.
Oisu (Timor), abs. 67.
Oldham, coal-measures of, abs. 63.
Ore sorting, abs. 64.
Origin of coal, abs. 47, 89.
--------tin deposits, abs. 35.
Orton (U.S.A.), natural gas, abs. 57-Ostrau beds, abs. 62, 63. Outliers of coal-measures,

15. Overturning wagons, abs. 72. Oxford (Northumberland), 18.
— limestone, 13.
Ozokerite (Galicia), abs. 39, 55, 61.
Paiva, A. de, gold on the Cubangui,
abs. 63. Parrot coal, 13.
Paesons, Hon. C. A., coal-dust, 256. Pas-de-Calais coals, abs. 88. Pasture Drift seam, 6.

Pavillon furnace, abs. 68, 69. Peake and Babballiee, quoted, 223. Peat (Holland).
— (Italy), abs. 15, 16.
— formation of, abs. 90-93. Pegswood, 7.
Pelton district, seams of, 6. Pennine chain, 3. Pennsylvania, abs. 74.
— anthracite measures, abs. 41.
— natural gas, abs. 57. Pensher,, 151,152. Pernolet, —, quoted. 90-92, 96. Peeein, —,

shot-firing in fire-damp
mines, abs. 72. Peterswald (Westphalia), abs. 62. Petroleum (Argentine Republic), abs. 36.
— (Roumania), abs. 78.
— (Venezuela), abs. 36.
Peeffek, A., hellhoffite and coal-dust,
abs. 50. Phillips, J. A., quoted, 29, 49, 50. Phosphates (Somme), abs. 31, 70. 1jielee

lamp, abs. 45.
Pinching, A. E., nomination, 53.
Pittsburgh, natural gas, abs. 57.
Plainmeller, seams of, 15.
Plashetts coal, 12.
Plessy seam, 7.
Plew, H., quoted, 147.
Poetsch, system of sinking, abs. 39.
Pontop, 126.
Portugal, 27, 30, 50.
— coal production, abs. 78. Posidonomya Becheri, 50.
' Poti (Caucasus), 89, 90, 95.
Poullaouen mines (Brittany), abs. 7. President, election, 220.
— vote of thanks to retiring, 259. Prince Albert seam, 7. Princess seam, 7.
Prudhoe, 126.
— district, seams of, 7.
Prussian fire-damp commission, abs.
77, 80. Pump, automatic feeding, abs. 68.
— spear connections, abs. 9. Pyrites (Huelva).
— analysis of, abs. 71.
— spontaneous combustion, abs. 71.
— in coal, abs. 74.
Quarry seam, 7.
Queen's seam, 7.
Quicksilver production, abs. 38.
Quinnesec mine (Michigan), abs. 74.
Radcliffe seam, 7.
Rainton, 152.
Rameau, —, safety catches for inclined
planes, abs 30. Randolph, J. C. P.. Chinese coals, abs. 17. Ratcha, 94, 96.
Rateait, A., ozokerite in Galicia, abs. 55. Red River, abs. Reigham, 20. Reschitza, abs. 9.
Reussendorf coals, analysis, abs. 3. Rhodes, —, quoted, 113. Rich, W., nomination, 129;

election, 195. Riga timber, 229.
Rio Tinto mines, 27. Rion, R., (Caucasus), 89, 90. Robie's coal, 13.
Robinson, R.. member of council, 220. Rochebelle Colliery (Gard), abs. 32-34. Rock, 18.
Roemee, Peoe. P., ozokerite in Galicia, abs. 39.
— quoted, 29. Roman mining, 32-34.
Ross, J. A. G.,Ryfiope explosion, 214,215.
Rossi, Pbof. —, quoted, 59.
Rothley coal, 13.
Rouabt, Beos., quoted, abs. 40.
Rough coal, 13.
Roumania, coal, abs. 79.
— geology of, abs. 78. Rugley, 19.
Ruler coal, 7. Russia, 50.
— coal production, abs. 78.
— coal-fields, abs. 93, 94. Ryhope, 126, 151-153.
— explosion report. Ryton, 126.
— district, seams of, 7.
Saarbriicken, coal-measures of, abs. 62.
— coal-dust experiments, abs. 80-85. Sabourisourisgali, R. 91.
Sacco, De. P., Italian peat, abs. 15. Sachs, O. S. C, wire-rope hanging
wagonway at Gottesseegen mine, abs.
19. Safety cage, abs. 70.
— catches, abs. 30, 42.
— lamp, Bainbridge's, 75-78.
--------electric, abs. 73.
--------gauzeless, 69.
Salt, (Dortmund), abs. 51.
— (S. Durham), abs. 1.
— (Volterra), abs. 14. San Francisco, abs. 76. Sardinia, silver-lead ore, abs. 6. Satpura,

Gondwana basin, abs. 49. Saxony, abs. 1.
i Scar limestone, 12.
Schatzlar beds, abs. 62, 63. — coal, analysis, abs. 3. Schemnitz, abs. 45.

Schettrer-Kestner, —, Thompson's
calorimeter, abs. 86. Schneider, R., bellhoffite and coal-dust,
abs. 50. Schneidlingen, abs. 39. Schmitt-Manderbach, A., spiral sieve
coal screens, abs. 18. Scott, W. B., nomination, 1; election,
53. Scremerston, 19. 24.
— district, seams of, 13.
— Main coal, 13. Seaham, 126, 151, 152. Sedgwick, Prof. A., quoted, 9. Seegen Gottes

colliery (Austria), 140. Seeland, F., tertiary coals of Carinthia,
abs. 61. Seismographs, 55. Sejottrnet, —, basic slag manure, abs.
31. Selby, Sir G., quoted, 9, 23. Senonian of Spain, abs. 86. Ser fan, abs. 32. Servian

mines, abs. 10. Servier method of overturning wagons,
abs. 72. Seven- Quarter seam, 7, 15. Seventy-Fathom seam, 7. Seville, 27. Shafts,

deepening, abs. 58.
— walling, abs. 71. Shale, analysis, abs. 11. Shaw's mine signalling, abs. 72. Shaw,

Saville, quoted, 248. Shield Row seam, 6. Shilbottle, 18.
— beacon, 18.
— colliery, 16.
— Bill Head coal, 13, 18.
— Main coal, 13, 18.
— Tomnhead coal, 13, 18. Shilburnhaugh coal, 12. Shoreswood, 20. Shortridge house, 16.
Shot-tiring, improvements in, abs. 28,29.
— in fiery mines, abs. 30.
Shtjtt, E. T., Canadian apatite, abs. 37.
Si Lai, R. (Sumatra), abs. 67.
Siemens and Halske, incline worked by
electricity, abs. 80. Sierra Morena, 27. Sigmund mine, abs. 45. Siibermann and Pavre's

calorimeter,
abs. 86. Silesia, 50; abs. 3.
— carboniferous of, abs. 63.
— coal, abs. 62.
— coal-dust experiments, abs. 82. Siliceous deposit (Berry), analysis, abs.
13. Silliman, J. M., Kaiping coal mine,
abs. 5. Silver (Brittany), abs, 9.
— (Lake Superior), abs. 8.
— (Tambo Vallay), abs. 38.
— ore deposits, abs. 20.
Simpson, —, Jan., correlation of seams,
126. Simpson, J. B., Caucasian coal, 99, 100.
— correlation of seams, 23.
— Suelva pyrites deposits, 51.
— member of council, 220.
— quoted, 4, 91. Sirgora coal-field, abs. 49. Six-Quarter seam, 6, 7, 126, 151, 152.

Six-Yard limestone, 13.
Sjogren, H., quoted, abs. 36. Slag (Huelva) analysis, 33.
— basic, abs. 31. Slag seam, 15. Smith, —, quoted, 224.
Smith, Ad., federation of institutes, 155,
162,173. Sobieski ozokerite mine (Galicia), abs. 39. Soeliki (Sumatra), abs. 67. Somme,

peat, abs. 92.
— phosphates, abs. 31. Sorting, ore, abs. 64. Sotjbeiran, A., quoted, 9. Souram, 95.
South Africa, diamonds, abs. 7.
South Africa, gold, abs. 7.
— America, coal production, abs. 78. -------petroleum, abs. 36.
— Durham, salt, abs. 1. Spam, 27-51.
— cretaceous fuels, abs. 86.
— endless chain in, 81-85.
— quicksilver production, abs. 38, 39. Spanish mine (California), abs. 75. Spirally-welded

tubing, abs. 63. Spital, 18.
Splint coal, 6, 7, 12, 126. Sprenger, J., cage catches, abs. 42.
— coal dust explosion at Kreuzgraben colliery, abs.
— brakes for winding engines, abs. 21,43. St. Hilda, 151, 152.
St. Louis (U.S.A.), earthquake, 56.
Staindrop, 3.
Stanton seam, 13.
Stassfurt, Neu-, salt mine, abs. 80.
Stauss's keps, abs. 40.
Steavenson, A. L., coal-dust, 256.
— coal nodules, 150.
— correlation of seams, 24.
— earth tremors, 66.
—fan committee, 181, 185, 188.
—federation of institutes, 155,164,167.
— gauzeless safety-lamp, 72.
— iron supports in mines, 141.
— Ryhope explosion, 213.
— steel v. timber in mines, 221-244.
— vice-president, 220. Steel, analysis, abs. 65, 66.
— Henderson, abs. 65.
— supports in mines, 221.
Stefani, Prop, de, lignite of Massa
(Italy), abs. 37. Steinmann, Gen., quoted, 99. Stephenson, R., quoted, 224. Stirling, J.,

minerals of Tambo Valley
(Australia), abs. 38. Stockton (N.S. Wales), 145-148. Stone coal, 6, 15, 126. Stoneclose

coal, 19.
— limestone, 19. Stony coal, 13, 20.
Stonypeth, 20.
Stops for wagons on inclines, abs. 71.
Stratton, T. H. M., member of council,
220. Strotjd, Prop., 100.
— earth tremors, 112. Stublick, seams of.
— dyke, 15.
Stur, D., age of Piiiifkirchen coal, abs. 62.
— plant concretions in YVestphalian coal, abs. 62.
Styria, coal, abs. 61, 62. Sulphur (Galicia), abs. 61.
— (Sumatra), abs. 67.
— (Timor), abs. 67. Sumatra, mining in, abs. 67. Sunderland, 151.
Sunji Mas (Timor), abs. 67. Superior, Lake, mines, abs. 8. Sweden, coal production, abs.

78.
— peat, abs. 91.
Swift's Creek (Australia), gold, abs. 38. Swinhoe, 19.
— coal, 13. Sydney, 145.
Synopsis of fire-damp explosions in Prance (1817-1884), abs. 26-28.
-------lower carboniferous coals, 12, 13.
-------upper carboniferous coals, 6, 7.
Tambo Valley (Australia), minerals of,
abs. 38. Tank, self-acting, abs. 51. Tapanoelie bay (Sumatra), abs. 67. Tasmania, coal

production, abs. 78. Tate, G., quoted, 10. Tawa coal-field, abs. 49. Taylor, H., quoted, 9.

Taylor, J., quoted, 4, 125. Taylor, T. J., quoted, 9. Teams, 16. Tees, R., 3.
Temperature, underground, abs. 61. Templeton (Canada), apatite, abs. 37. Ten-Yard

limestone, 13. Tertiary coal (Carinthia), abs. 61.
Thar sis mines, 27.
Thermometer readings (1887), 261-267.
Thomas, W. J., quoted, 245.
Thompson, Dr., quoted, 9.
Thompson's calorimeter.
Thompson, W., election, 219.
Three-Quarter seam, 6, 7, 15, 126.
Three-Yard limestone, 12.
Tiflis, 89.
Tiknaris-gali, R., 92.
Tilley seam, 7, 126.
Timor, geology of, abs. 67.
Tin (Australia), abs. 35, 38.
— deposits, origin of, abs. 35. Tinto, Rio, 27. Tkiboulla, R., 90. Tkiboulli, 89, 90, 94,

96. Tone coal, 12.
Tong colliery (China), abs. 5. Tow Law district, seams of, 6. Tower Taye coal, 12. Towneley

seam, 126.
— Main seam, 7. Transcaspian naphtha, abs. 58. Transcaucasia, abs. 59. Transylvania, abs.

78.
Truskawiec, sulphur and ozokerite, abs. 61.
Tubing, spirally-welded, abs. 63.
Tuedian beds, 3.
Tuggall, 18.
Turkey, coal production, abs, 78.
Two-Quarter seam, 6.
Tters, J. E., nomination, 2; election, 53.
Tyne, R., 151, 152.
Tynedale district, seams of, 13.
Tyzack, D., Rio Tinto mines, 45.
JJlgham Main seam, 7.
— Top seam, 7. Underground temperature, abs. 61.
— ventilating fan.
United States, coal production, abs. 78.
-------quicksilver production, abs. 38, 39.
Unthank, 20. Upper Kail seam, 12. Urals, coal-fields of the, abs. 93, 94. Urqtthart, —,

new electric miner's lamp, 112-115.
Vail, —, quoted, abs. 89.
Vegetable Creek tin-field (N.S. Wales),
abs. 35. Venezuela, petroleum, abs. 36. Ventilating fan, portable, abs. 32.

-------underground, abs. 44.
— machine, abs. 68.
Ventilators, mechanical, joint committee
on, 181. Ver (Westphalia), abs. 77. Vermilion iron mines, abs. 8. Verneuil, E. de, quoted,

29, 49. Victoria seam, 4, 6, 125, 127, 128. Volpersdorf coal, analysis, abs. 3. Volterra,

salt, abs. 14. Vulcan mine (Michigan), abs. 74.
Wag-nek, C. J., temperature of Arlberg
tunnel, abs. 61. Wagons, overturning, abs. 72. Waldenburg coal, abs. 3. Waldmarsland, peat,

abs. 91. Walker, G. B., fan committee 182, 183,
187.
— federation of institutes, 155, 159, 171, 178.
Wallah, J., nomination, 2 ; election, 53. Walling of shafts, abs. 71. Wallsend colliery

(N.S. Wales), 145.
— district, seams of, 6. Waratah colliery (N.S. Wales), 149. Warkworth district, seams of,

7.
— hermitage, 16. Washing coal, abs. 45.
Wasmuth, H. A., anthracite measures of
Pennsylvania, abs. 41. Water tank, self-acting, abs. 51. Wear, R., 153. Wearmouth, 151.
— district, seams of, 6.
Wears, W. G., nomination, 129 ; election,
195. Weeks, J. G., gauzeless safety-lamp,
73.
— member of council, 220. Weisstein coal, analysis, abs. 3. Wellsike seam, 15.
Wengler, R., amandus silver lode
(Saxony), abs. 2. Westphalia, abs. 44.
— coal, abs. 62.
— coal-dust experiments, abs. 81, 82. Whickham stone coal, 7.
White, —, correlation of seams, 126.
Whittle, 18.
Widdrington district, seams of, 7-
— main coal, 7-Wiesner, A., abs. 45. Williams, J., quoted, 9. Williamson, Prop. W. C,

quoted,
abs. 62. Willis, J., steel supports in mines, 244.
— vice-president, 220.
Wilson, W. and J. W., limestone series
of N. Northumberland, 16. Wimmer, R., silver ore deposits, abs. 20. Winch, N., quoted, 10.

Winding engines, brakes for, abs. 21, 43.
— ropes, cost in Germany, abs. 24-26. Winklehner,H., natural gas in America,
abs. 57.
Wire-rope hanging wagon-way, abs. 19.
Wisconsin, abs. 74.
Witton, 128.
Wood, L., Ryhope explosion, 197.
Wood, N., quoted, 4,10, 125.
Wood, W. H., earth tremors, 112.
— miner's electric lamp, 115.
— member of council, 220.
Wood, W. O., member of council, 220. Woodend limestone, 13. Woodhouse, 17. Woodside, 19.
— coal, 13.
Wycztnski, J., sulphur at Truskawiec, abs. 61.
Yard seam, 6, 7, 15, 126.
Yotjng-, J. A., nomination, 2; election, 53.
Zafra, 27.
Zinc ore (Dortmund), abs. 17.
Zollverein colliery, abs. 45.